For the Universe and Love
by Raruku
Summary: When Zim receives a call from the Tallest after years of banishment on Earth, he returns to Irk only to find that he has become the new Tallest. Years from then, Zim returns to Earth for some unfinished business. UPDATED! Final chapter is up!
1. Chapter 1: The Return

Th is fic was inspired by reading to much ZAGR on the site. So, please bare with my despite the fact that it may get a tad OOC. Thanks much and happy reading!

DISCLAIMER: Nup~ Dun own Invader Zim

CHAPTER I: The Return

The Massive cruised at average speed towards its destination. It was the biggest ship in the entire Irken army, just until the completion of the Impendia. On the Massive were the regular Irken soldiers and pilots but there was a new addition: Zim. Yes, Zim, was standing there and staring out into the black expanse of space as he recalled all the events of the past few years.

He remembered everything like it was just yesterday.

*FLASHBACK*

The screen in Zim's lab flashed with static as the former Invader stared at it. It had been such a long time since he had any transmission from any Irken since he heard the news from the Tallest. How his mission was a lie, how he was the laughing-stock of the whole empire and that… he was a defective. The words ringed in his mind as he remembered them…

_You're defective ZIM!_

_DEFECTIVE_

_DEFECTIVE… Not an Invader_

He feared for himself why that after all his years on Earth, the Tallest were contacting him now. Suddenly, the screen came alive, on it the faces of his leaders, the almighty Tallest Red and Purple. But this time, they did not wear on their faces the usual look of disturbance or disgust that they usually had when talking with Zim but instead looked rather pleased.

"Invader Zim. Status report!" demanded Red as he looked at Zim

"Invader, my Tallest? I thought I was removed from being an Invader and banished."

"Not really Zim." said Purple with a donut in his hand "We've been… let's say, harsh."

"A bit too harsh if I may add." interjected Red "We've actually been monitoring your progress Zim. You've come quite far and have… outgrown your stupidity. You aren't as dumb as you used to be."

There was a long pause between the three.

"And not to mention that you've grown quite tall. Tall enough to say… become Tallest." Purple smiled as he uttered those words.

Zim looked at his feet and saw that indeed, he had grown. All these years on Earth had changed him quite lot. He had friends such as Dib and Gaz. He lived like a normal Earthling and even developed immunity to most of the things which at first, burned and scarred him.

"We want you to return to Irk. Teach us what you have learned on that planet." Purple floated aimlessly behind Red, losing all interest in the current topic.

"Forgive me, my Tallest but I cannot leave." Zim said, sadness in his voice "I… have someone who needs me here."

Red was shocked at Zim's refusal to return home. He thought that after all this time, Zim would jump for joy and immediately hop into his ship and fly back but he was wrong. Instead, Zim had wanted to stay on Earth since there was something that was holding him there.

"Come on, Zim. Just come back. It's a really important time for Irk. Do you remember what time it is?"

Zim searched his brain and found the answer that the Tallest knew that he knew.

"It is… the Ceremony of Passing, correct?" Zim raised an invisible eyebrow.

"Yes Zim. And you… have qualified to become the next Tallest of our empire."

*END FLASHBACK*

Zim remembered the words as if it had all happened in the blink of eye. Here he was adorned in his crimson robes and now known as the Tallest among his race. A smile crept across his face and he placed his hand on the railings, grasping it to get a sense of reality, that this was not a dream.

In his tenure as Tallest of Irk, he had accomplished what many others before him could not. Instead of waging universal war and to rule all, he demanded that the Irken empire stand down and cease all hostile activities. He wanted peace… he knew that if things proceeded the way they were, it would only be matter of time before Earth was engulfed in the flames of war. And Zim knew all to well that Earth was not prepared let alone even stand a chance against the Irken empire… as well as any attack from other races. Earth was the one place Zim felt more at home, even more than being on Irk. He had come to love the planet and dearly missed his friends.

It was the golden age of the Irken race, some said. Zim had even restructured the whole government system on his planet, bringing about a more stable form of control.

A door behind Zim opened and in floated the former Tallest Red.

"Are you sure that this is what you want Zim." Red was worried

"Yes. Even though I will not be on Irk, I am quite capable of commanding from where I will be. Plus, I have you and Purple to take care of matters"

Through his work Irk,a new system had been called for allowing Red and Purple to maintain political power. But from then on, they were known as the Taller, second in command to the Tallest.

"Sir. We have reached our destination and your ship is prepared to launch at any moment." announced one of the soldiers at the control panels.

"My Taller, you and Purple will be in charge while I'm gone. Contact me if anything important arises." Zim walked off towards the door.

"Oh, and no blowing up of planets while I'm gone!" added Zim with a chuckle

"That's long gone now, Zim. And, yes sir." replied Red

Walking through the steel doors, Zim vanished from Red's view and made his way down the halls to the elevator, taking him to the hangar bay. From there, he took a ship and flew towards the planet now well in view.

That's the first chapter of my new fic. R&R and please don't hate me for making things seem so great for Zim. My answer is because he spent time on Earth learned so much that he outgrew his old habits and matured. Now, he's a pretty smart alien. Dunno if he should still speak in third person though. Anyway, I hope you look forward to the next chapter. I'll have it up in a while. It might get OOC since this is somewhat of an alternate reality or universe or maybe just my writing.

Thanks guys, Raruku out~


	2. Chapter 2: Reunited

Well, I got a review… made me really happy. Hehe~ Anyway, to those who are continuing to read my fic, here's the next instalment. Have fun with it.

DISCLAIMER: DO NOT OWN INVADER ZIM

* * *

Chapter II: Reunited

The skies above Irk were filled with confetti falling from a large vessel that cruised through the skies. The euphoria from the crowds filled the whole city of Capitalia. From the vessel that was flying were streamers and banners emblazoned with the Irken symbol with background colours of the traditional red and purple. The ship came to a halt in front of a large towering spire that had 2 large screens floating along-side it. There was static on the screen. The crowd grew silent. The face of the familiar Irken announcer, still wearing that strange helmet, flashed onto the screen.

"All Irkens, wave your antenna in salute because here they are, your all knowing, all powerful vice-leaders, the ALMIGHTY TALLER!" the voice echoed throughout the whole city and the crowd was once again celebrating. Screams, applause and all manners of merriment could be seen and heard as the spire that all gazed upon opened up and upon the screen, replacing the announcer, were the images of the Taller Red and Purple, waving down to the people.

"Mighty Irken people! Behold!" Red pointed to the giant vessel. "The Impendia!" Red raised his arms as the crowd grew louder.

"It is now the biggest Domination Class Battleship in our whole armada." added Purple as he stood beside Red.

"Although, we're are sad to say that our mighty Tallest, Zim, could not be here today" the people grew silent once more. "But be saddened not. We stand firm in the face of hardship. We are the Irken Empire!"

The cries of joy resumed and fireworks began to rain down from the Impendia, filling the area around it with dazzling patterns of light. It was a day of utter celebration. The Impendia was finally completed, the new flagship of the Irken Armada and a tribute to their Tallest Zim.

Gaz sat on the couch watching television. Taking a quick peek at her watch, she took note of the time. Picking up the remote, the switched it off and headed upstairs. Inside one of the rooms, she found Dib in a lab gown. He was working on an experiment involving very unstable chemicals. One could see that the lab was filled with test tubes, beakers, flasks and all matter of paraphernalia that a scientist would need to conduct his work. Dib took notice of Gaz shortly after her entrance into the room. Taking off his goggles, he eyed his sister.

"What is it, Gaz?" Gaz pointed a finger to her wrist watch. "Oh? Really now? Just let me get changed." Dib removed his coat and hung it on the coat rack near the door. He passed Gaz who followed his leave and each went to their rooms. The siblings assembled outside their house. The sun was high up in the sky. It was a rather perfect day. There were only a few clouds and it was not too warm. But even so, Gaz wore the same thing. She was still wearing the same long-sleeve shirt and army pants. Her boots were worn but they felt comfortable so Gaz never took time to wear any of her other shoes. Around her neck was the same skull pendant. She clasped it and smiled a bit. Dib drove his car out of the garage and pulled down the window. He called Gaz in and they left. Gaz took a quick glance at her brother and let out a small chuckle.

"Really Dib. Even though you have a wide selection of clothes and judging by the occasion, you're still wearing the same clothes."

"Of course. Besides, aren't you wearing the same ones?" Dib raised an eyebrow and took a quick look at Gaz.

She crossed her arms and looked out the window on her side of the car. "Well, duh. This is the only thing that looks good.

Over the years, Gaz and Dib had changed quite a lot.

Gaz had grown up to become a fine woman. She was quite attractive and got asked out many times although she just tossed the guys into a dumpster and left them to cry. She was beautiful and her purple hair had grown to a length that reached down to her shoulders. She had a nice shapely body that could make guys stare and do a double-take. But then again, this was Gaz Membrane. She was darkness incarnate and could make any man bend to her will. She did not and would not love any man.

As for Dib, puberty was not kind to him. He had gone through an **ugly duckling** stage and was not that all attractive. But that was all in his early years of Hi-Skool. Now, his features had moulded into a handsome young man. Not only that, he was a successful scientist at such a young age of 23. But even so, Dib had no girlfriend. He always says that the right girl was out there somewhere.

Gaz rolled down the window on her side and could smell the salty sea breeze. The wind brushed against her face and her hair blew with the wind. She pulled a map out of the compartment in front of her and checked it.

"There's an old abandoned lighthouse on cliff near here. Take the dirt road after the big old tree." Dib nodded in affirmation to Gaz's directions. A few more minutes into the trip and Dib finally saw the tree. He got off the main road and drove onto the dirt path. After a few more minutes, they arrived at an old dilapidated lighthouse that looked like it would fall apart any minute. Gaz exited the car and walked to the cliff. She looked up to the skies and grasped the railings where she stood. The wind grew stronger.

"He's here." Gaz said under her breath.

From the skies then descended an Irken ship. It slowly came down to level its door with the cliff. The metal door opened up and set itself down onto the edge of the cliff, forming a small platform to cross over. Gaz took a glance over her shoulder and saw Dib standing at the car. He smiled at her and gave her a thumbs-up. He then pointed to the ship that had arrived. Gaz looked back to the ship and saw standing there in the doorway was a familiar face. Zim exited the craft and stepped onto the firm ground beside Gaz. He walked to stand in front of her and looked down to her. Zim was taller than Gaz but only by a few inches. There was a long pause between the two.

"I'm back." Zim broke the silence.

Gaz then embraced the alien. She felt tears welling up in her eyes but this time, she was not going to be strong. This was a moment of weakness that she gladly accepted. Letting the tears flow, she cried into Zim's chest, soaking his robe with her tears. The tears did not hurt Zim. After years on Earth, he had developed immunity to all the things that used to hurt him. A smile formed on his features and he returned Gaz's embrace. He kissed her on the head and stroked her hair with his clawed hand.

"I waited for so long, Zim." Gaz sobbed even more. "You promised." her voice quivered with every word.

"I know Gaz. I'm here now. No need to cry" Zim assured her and embraced her tighter. "Hey there, buddy. Welcome back!" Dib had walked over to Zim and placed his hand on his shoulder. "I was pretty hyped since you sent your message about a week ago."

"Yes. It's a good thing you came on time. Otherwise I'd have to wait here like an idiot." the two laughed.

After Gaz had finished letting out her tears, she wiped them clean and smiled at Zim. Her heart began to race. As did Zim's. This was the reason why Zim did not want to leave Earth many years ago when the Tallest had contacted him. He had fallen in love with Gaz. Gaz returned his feelings and accepted Zim into her life. Besides, Gaz did not love any man… Zim was an alien. Walking back to his car, Dib called for both of them. As Zim walked away with his arm around Gaz's shoulder, the ship he had come on flew up into the sky and vanished quickly from view. They all got into the car and Dib drove off.

Zim sat with Gaz in the back seat, smiling as he held onto her hand. Gaz rested her head on his shoulder and was incredibly happy. It was as if this was her only care in the world, that this was one moment that she wished could last forever.

"So Zim. What's new with you?" asked Dib.

"Well, I'm the new leader of my race." Zim scratched his head. "Kinda ironic, huh?" he added.

"Yeah. You used to say that you're leaders just wanted to get rid off you." stated Gaz as she looked up to Zim. "And now, you're the one who leads them." she added.

"Well, that don't matter now. All that matters is that you're back" said Dib.

The drive back didn't take as long as it did to go fetch Zim. It was a bit lively in the car as the three talked and reminisced about the good old days. They kept laughing at the memories of how Zim and Dib used to get when Dib was still after Zim. They even talked about the painful and sad memories. How Zim had been told that he was a defective, how he coped with the news and how Dib had begun to feel sorry for him. The two quickly became friends. Then Zim began to feel for Gaz and tried his best to let her know about how he felt. Boy, Zim could remember what he went through just to even tell her. But still, she had accepted his feelings. Then came the time when it seemed to last forever. Then the transmission came. Zim all of a sudden said that he needed to leave Earth, that he had to return to Irk for some important matters. Gaz had begged him not to go and just to stay but Zim was set on leaving. He did promise her though that he would come back no matter what. Gaz, too, promised that she would wait for him to come back no matter how long it took, as did Dib. But here he was now back with his friends, the one who had become his best friend, who had accepted him and shared good and bad times with him, and here she was, the human woman who Zim had come to love and held so dear to his heart.

The car finally arrived at its destination and Gaz stepped out first. She looked around and made sure that there was nobody watching. They had arrived at Zim's house. While Zim was away, it was Gaz and Dib who had volunteered to take care of it. After seeing that nobody was watching, she signalled to Zim. After all, Zim had just returned and did not have his disguise. But then again, the people of Earth, aside from Dib and Gaz, were absolutely oblivious to the fact that Zim was an alien. Just as Zim used to say, stoopid hyoomans!

After the three had walked into the house, Zim was greeted by a flying metal object to the face. He struggled to get the thing off but despite his strength, its grip on his head was quite strong.

"GIR! Get off me!" Zim demanded from the little robot as it was still plastered to his face.

Zim struggled more and more until he finally was able to get Gir off from his head.

"Master! I missed you! You were gone for so long!" Gir's head twisted into a weird fashion, his tongue out like usual. "Gazzy cried for a lot of nights." Gir added.

Gaz blushed and impulsively pounded the little SIR unit in the head. However, Gir just took the blow and rolled off to the kitchen. After Gir had vanished, in floated mini-Moose, Zim's other robot.

"Squeak!" said the little floating moose.

"Yes. I have missed you, too." said Zim as mini-Moose proceeded to rub itself on his cheek.

Zim looked at Gaz asked her how the base was and about computer. Gaz simply said that everything was fine. After all, it was her and Dib that had watched over his place. Zim walked over to his sofa and sat down. Gaz followed. Dib on the other hand headed for the door.

"All right. I got some things to finish up at home." Dib opened the door. "Have fun, you two." Dib added as he shut the door. Like Gir, mini-Moose disappeared into the kitchen.

A naughty look came upon Gaz's face as she looked back at Zim. He merely squinted his eyes and wondered what was wrong. She came closer and closer until he had nowhere left to move and then she pounced. Her lips locked with his in a furious and passionate kiss. Zim let himself go and returned the gesture. The two embraced each other tightly, exploring their bodies as if this were their final time together. It lasted for a few good minutes before the two sat back upright, each blushing so much. Gaz's face was all red while Zim's grew a darker green. Slowly, her hand found his and held tightly onto it. Looking back at each other, they smiled.

"Welcome back." Gaz said.

"It's good to be home." replied Zim.

* * *

That's chapter 2 for ya and I hoped you enjoyed it! Hope that kissing wasn't too intense. I had almost no idea of how to describe it. Anyway, like the usual, R&R and please tell me what you think. Love or hate, I don't care, I will read your reviews and take them with respect. After all, constructive criticism is good for any beginning writer. Thanks guys~

Raruku off~

Oh, BTW, Chapter 3 will be up in a while. Hope this wasn't too long a chapter for y'all!


	3. Chapter 3: To Be Completely United

Wohoo~ I read the reviews when I put up chapter 2 and someone asked that I update soon. You know who you are! Thank you! Anyway, here's the next chapter. I'll really try my best to update as quickly as possible to keep you guys satisfied and happy. Hehe.

DISCLAIMER: Really now. We all know that I don't own Invader Zim.

Chapter III: To Be Completely United

It had been 3 days since Zim had returned to Earth. He and Gaz did not waste time. The two had been together since his arrival. She even slept in his house for all that time. They were very happy together, all their moments filled with laugher and smiles. That is until Gaz had wanted to watch a horror movie marathon that made Zim cringe and yell out "The Halloweenies!" Gaz laughed as Zim ran into the kitchen, trying to make his way down into his lab. Even though he had gained immunity to simple things, he was still scared of a few make believe monsters.

Morning had come and the Zim woke up from his slumber. Although Irkens did not need sleep, he was a defective one, thus his Pak was not fully functional like the others, allowing him and forcing him to rest like normal humans. Zim knew of this defect within him but was happy he had it. It was something that made him close to being human, something that allowed him to share with what Gaz felt. After all, it was this faulty Pak that allowed him to love Gaz. Opening his eyes slowly; he sat up and laid eyes upon his purple haired vixen that lay still deep in sleep beside him. He pulled back a strand of her hair and placed a light kiss on her cheek and got out of bed. He went to his closet and picked out the clothes that he had gotten when his old Invader uniforms could no longer fit. Picking out a simple red shirt and blue jeans, he put them on and left the room. Taking the elevator up, he arrived at the kitchen to find Gir and mini-Moose. Gir was at the kitchen counter preparing his favourite waffles.

"Squeak" Zim heard mini-Moose and greeted him back. "Good morning to you, too." Zim looked over to Gir and placed a hand on his chin in wonder. "What are you making Gir?"

"I'm making waffles!" Gir began to stir the batter rapidly with a wooden spoon. "There's waffle in 'em!"

Zim sat down at the table and saw that the morning paper was already there. It had been brought in by mini-Moose who usually inspected the front yard in the mornings to check on the gnomes and like. Zim started to read and came upon an article which piqued his interest.

"Hey. They've started to clone Chihuahuas now." Zim snickered as he recalled a similar article years ago that tackled on beavers.

Gaz emerged from the lift and Zim took notice of her. She walked over to him and planted a kiss on his cheek and took the seat beside him.

"More waffles?" Gaz looked at Gir who had surprisingly managed to keep the kitchen clean while making waffles.

Gir had now finished mixing the batter and took it to stove. It took a few more minutes for Gir to cook all of it. When he was done, Gir set down the plates filled with their breakfast onto the table and proceeded to do a strange dance when he was done. Zim and Gaz talked as they ate breakfast. They had planned to go to the mall later in the afternoon. Zim said that he needed new clothes and Gaz wanted to pick them out for him. I mean, if you let Zim go shopping on his own, the only colour of clothes he would pick would be red or purple! After eating, Gaz went down back into the base and took a shower while Zim stayed upstairs and sat on the sofa to watch T.V. There was a knock on the door. Zim got up to answer it and found Dib. Inviting him in, Dib followed Zim to the sofa and they both sat down while staring at the television.

"So, Are you planning to place your master plan into action Zim?" Dib asked as he found the remote and flipped through the channels.

"Well. Yes. How is the package?"

"It's ready. I checked this morning." Dib glanced at his watch. "You just need to go pick it up."

"Thank you, Dib." Dib gave him a light punch on the arm, "No problem, bro!" and with that, Dib placed down the remote and left the house. It appears that Dib had come over just to talk about this certain plan and package. Gir walked into the living room in his dog outfit with mini-Moose in a blowfish balloon costume, tied to Gir's leash.

"Squeak!" the little robot bobbed up and down in the air.

"You're taking Gir for a walk?" Zim wondered at how strange this whole thing was and raised an invisible brow. "Very well. I do not protest. Carry on."

The door opened and slam shut as Gir and mini-Moose left the house off on their walk. Well, Gir was the one walking since mini-Moose just floated around. Gaz walked into the living room, fresh from her shower dressed a purple bath robe, her hair still slightly wet. She looked absolutely radiant this morning. Zim blushed as he looked at her for just a few seconds. She sat down beside him and together they watched whatever was on.

Later on in the day, afternoon had rolled in and the two were already at the mall by 2 p.m . They went around for a while, inspecting the various clothing stores that Gaz visited when she went to get her clothes. When they reached a particular store that Gaz liked, she began to sort through the displayed items and tried to pick out what would look good on Zim. Zim knew just how long it would take Gaz to find something nice and asked if he could go around for a while and come back in a few minutes when she had made her choice. She nodded and off he went out of the store. He looked around and found a familiar sign and made his way too it. There, he saw the clerk who was lazily sprawled along the counter. He approached it and looked at the passive worker.

"I'm here to pick up a package."

"State your name." the clerk asked in a bored tone.

"Zim. The name is Zim."

"Really now. What kind of name is that?" the clerk made a remark as he reached down into the counter to search for Zim's package.

"Silence foolish slave of society. You do not question Zim, Zim questions you!" Zim pointed his finger at the clerk like he usually used to do.

Raising an eyebrow, the clerk stared in wonder at Zim and his strange comment. "Anyway, here's your package." the clerk placed a parcel on the counter.

"Sorry. Old habits die hard." stated Zim as he took the package from the counter and left the store. He returned to Gaz and like he had expected, she had already made her pick and wanted him to try them out. Out of 10 shirts Gaz had picked, only 1 was red and no other were purple. Zim was unsatisfied with the shirts but he could not argue lest he anger Gaz. Even though the two were hitting it off quite well, she was still scary as hell when made mad and Zim was no exception to her rage. After a few minutes in the fitting stalls, Gaz had decided on 3 of her pick and said that it was time to pay at the counter. However Zim stopped her and begged her to at least let him get the red one as well. After all, Zim did like the colour red. That or purple. Giving in to his pleas, Gaz finally said yes and allowed him to get what he wanted as well.

They stayed in the mall until late at night as they had watched movies and had dinner. It was a sudden date that they had decided to have. They went to the theatres and saw some humorous ones and sci-fi ones. Zim just laughed and made silent comments about how humans perceived aliens. Comedy on the other hand was something Zim liked. He loved how humans made jokes from just even the simplest of things and it always tickled his Squeedily Spooch when he laughed at the punch lines. When it was already late at night, they took a cab back home since Zim did not have a car and his Voot Cruiser was still back on Irk, being re-outfitted and configured for his own personal use. When the taxi pulled into the front of Zim's house, they saw Gir tied to a tree which Zim used when he wanted Gir to be less of an annoyance and keep him outside. The little unit was feasting on a bag of Tequitos which mini-Moose seemed to have used to bribe him from doing certain… destructive acts. Gaz took Gir from the tree and then he accompanied the couple as they went into Zim's house.

"You wanna play for a bit Zim?" asked Gaz as she picked up a controller.

"Sure. Why not?" Zim took the other controller and sat beside her. The screen came to life with the game's title on it and the two went hunting into the world of Vampire Piggy Domination.

Later that night, it was nearing midnight when they had decided to save their progress and go to bed. After changing into their sleeping wear, Zim sat on the bed as Gaz sat at the little mirror while brushing her hair. Zim stood up and went to the hamper, searching it for his used jeans. He found them at the bottom and dug into the pockets. He had found his item, the parcel that he had gotten from the mall. Walking over to Gaz, he stood silently behind her, watching her movements. Gaz took notice of his presence and turned around to face him. Then he grabbed her hand. There was a serous look on his face. His ruby eyes shone, filled with intent to do something to her. Lifting the wrist he held, he brought her up and stared at her.

"Z-zim. What are you doing!" Gaz struggled to pry her hand from his hold.

"Something I should have done a long time ago." Zim said.

Zim reached into his pocket and pulled out the parcel he had gotten. Holding it in one hand, he showed it to Gaz, holding it before her eyes.

"What is that?" she asked as she felt fear course through her body. "You shall see." Zim replied.

Tearing it open with his mouth, he reached in with his free hand and pulled it out, keeping it out of view in his clenched fist. Then, he switched his hold on her wrist to her hand and held it out. He then kneeled down and opened his fist, revealing a black onyx ring.

"ZIM!" Gaz exclaimed as she witnessed the piece of jewellery in his hand. "Yes, Gaz. This is something I should have done a long time ago." he said as he placed the ring on her ring finger.

"Do you… do you take Zim as your mate, Gaz?" he let go of her and she brought her hands to cover her mouth. She was absolutely stunned, she had no idea this was even coming. This was something she was not prepared for. She stood silent as Zim looked back at her.

"What is wrong? Do you… not wish to be united with Zim?" he saddened with his words.

It was silent. Zim had expected a yes… he wanted a yes. He felt rejected, thrown away like he was from his empire. Although it was just a memory from long ago, it still hurt. He felt a pang in his chest as the thoughts flooded him. He closed his eyes and bowed his head and felt tears streaming down his cheeks. _'Why?"_ he thought.

Then suddenly, he felt her arms around his body. She knelt down and embraced him as she herself shed tears. She felt her body tremble as she pulled him closer.

"Yes, Zim. I will marry you!" she said joyously, her voice quivering with her. "I'm so happy. So very happy Zim." Gaz let herself out of her shell and gave into her feminine side. This was a side that the world almost never saw, a completely different personality that only Zim had ever and was to see. Dib also witnessed it, on occasion at least. He felt the pain subside and the sadness turned to joy. Returning her embrace, he closed the gap between them with a kiss on her lips.

"Thank you, my little Gaz." he embraced her again, tighter and never wanting to let her go.

That night, he had proposed to her and gotten his answer. The two were now to be married, to be united until death takes the other away. Nothing would stand in the way of their love for each other. Zim had his Queen and Gaz had her little green alien. They were happy together and they would be until the very end.

Purple sat on the comfy sofa, sipping his slushy. Red floated in and took the spot beside him, eating his curly fries that were covered in cheese. In front of them were numerous Irken communications officers and workers who straddled back and forth to get work done. Now then, one of the drones would approach them asking for their answers or opinions on various political issues.

Blip. One of the drones at the screens noticed a dot in the map that was the whole of the monitored space around planet Irk.

"My Taller. An unidentified vessel has just exited from hyper space and come to a stop at the outer boundaries of our planet." stated the drone as he looked at the screen.

"Do we have a visual on the thing?" asked Red as he set down his fries. "Not yet, sir. We're getting a drone there now." there was silence.

After a minute or so had passed, they turned their attention to another screen as the live video feed from the drone began to transmit. What they saw astounded them.

"What on Irk is that!" Purple dropped his drink and placed his hands on his head.

On the screen was a ship that they had never seen before. It was alone but looked menacing and not only that, it was far larger than the Massive. It looked like even the Impendia could not even match up to this monstrosity.

"Establish communications with them." demanded Red. "Not possible sir. We can't access their signal. It seems to be blocked." replied the drone as he pushed more buttons on the console.

"Well, if you do, tell them we're going to blow them up!" said Purple. "No can do Pur. We can't do that anymore." interjected Red.

"But if they attack, we get to blow 'em, right?" Red slapped his own face. "No duh. Self-defence." finally, the screen had static on it and an inaudible voice was heard.

"Bzzzzzzzt" the screen sounded. "Bzzzzzzz. we…." the static began to fade. "Mighty Irken Empire. Stand down." there was nothing but a thin green line on the screen. It moved in sync with the voice.

"I repeat. Irken Empire. Stand down." Red gritted his teeth in anger. "Who are you to tell us to stand down! You're going up against the most powerful race in the universe and you're talking as if you want to pick a fight." the voice laughed in a creepy computer tone. "Stand down. We will invade you. If you resist, we will be forced to take hostile actions." the voice stated.

"How many ships are available at the moment?" questioned Purple to one of the soldiers. "Division A and B of the Defence Armada is already awaiting approval to launch." the soldier put a finger onto his communicator. "Wait… Division F has just returned and is nearing the outer border." "Well then, send them all. Surround that ship." ordered Purple.

Blip. Another dot appeared on the screen. "My Taller, another ship has just appeared beside the first one." Blip. "Sir. Another one!" Blip blip blip blip blip. The sound continued as more dots and ships appeared on the screen and on the video feed.

Red and Purple were shocked. Who in the entire universe would dare to attack them let alone their home planet? Who were these strange beings?

"STAND DOWN. IRKEN EMPIRE." the voice echoed throughout the silent room.

The tension was high and anything could happen at any moment.

There you have it, chapter 3! Some nice tension for the last part, huh?

I'll be in the process of creating chapter 4 so please wait for it like you guys waited for this chappy. Thanks a bunch for reading. R&R and say what you want.

Raruku out~


	4. Chapter 4: This Looks Bad

The fourth chapter is here! Hope you enjoy it.

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Invader Zim. I do own a pair of pants, though.

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Chapter IV: This Looks Bad

The skies above Irk were ablaze with war. Although the area of combat was far-off, the inhabitants could see clearly the exchange of ordnance that was taking place in outer space. Orbs of light that shone brightly like miniature stars, clearly the impact of a laser on an enemy vessel… or theirs getting hit. Ships began to depart from every military base on Irk to join up with the Irken Defence Armadas A,B and F that are already engaged in battle with the unknown foe. Constant shelling was pelting the planet surface, causing random explosions everywhere. Civilians had begun to take shelter as soldiers gathered up to combat any incoming land threat. Battle Mechs and Plasma Tanks mobilized from their hangars and took up positions, ready for action.

**CAPITALIA MILITARY BASE**

The Almighty Taller were in the main control room of the base giving out orders. Soldiers scurried across the room carrying out all the tasks set to them by their two leaders. This was war. The Irken war machine was not to be taken lightly and they would fight back with everything they have.

"Where is the Massive?" asked Red to one of the communications officers. "Currently being prepared for launch, sir." he replied as he touched his comm.

"Activate all long range artillery. Give 'em hell!" ordered Purple.

All around the planet cannons came to life and aimed towards the skies, releasing their load.

"Damn it. Situation on the Attack Armada?" asked Red to another soldier. "Sir. They are awaiting the Massive. They will launch when it has fully prepared."

"How long!" screamed Purple. "Just a few more minutes, sirs."

Minutes seemed to feel like hours. Anything could happen at any minute. They needed to get their Attack Force out, pronto. The wait seemed long despite all the action taking place but it finally came. "Sirs! The Massive is ready!" shouted one of the soldiers at the consoles. "What are you waiting for! LAUNCH!" ordered Red.

The huge airfield in front of the base split open, revealing the Massive as it ascended to the skies. When it had reached a good enough altitude, it circled around waiting for the Attack Armada to form up around it. When they had all grouped, they rose higher to greet the opponents.

"Attack Armada assume barrier formation. Get the Massive as close as possible and light 'em up." Red ordered to the pilots on the Irken battleship.

**THE MASSIVE**

Since the Taller were not on it, it was now commandeered by Admiral Scoodge. He stood in the middle of the control room surveying the ongoing conflict. He saw ships flying directly towards the enemy and releasing all their armaments. Volleys of laser fire were being shot from both sides. But something was amiss. They had been losing a lot of ships. But the enemy… did not seem to lessen in number.

"Come on boys. Bring some of them down!" said Scoodge as he tried to encourage his men. "Sir. We can't even lay a dent on them. Their shields are too strong."

"Grr. Fine then. Prepare the main cannon. Start charging at 50% power and increase energy output until at firing capacity." ordered Scoodge.

A few more or so seconds later, one of the soldiers from the console had signalled that the main cannon was ready. Scoodge gave the order to fire.

"FIRE!" a beam of light fired from the Massive and made contact with one of the enemy vessels. What the result was… shocked them.

"IMPOSSIBLE!" Scoodge could not believe his eyes. The vessel that had taken the full blast was still there as if unscathed.

The vessel that had been shot with the laser then began to turn to face the Massive. It open fired with its cannons and lasers.

"Sir. We're getting an energy reading from that ship. It's charging its cannon." informed one of the soldiers as he read the screens.

"Up all shields. Maximum energy output on the front." a blast emanated from the enemy. It made impact with the Massive.

"Status?" asked Scoodge. "Shields down to 45%. We can't afford to take another blast." "Damn. Retreat for now. Full power to thrusters."

The Massive turned around the headed back to Irk. The enemy ship did not let up. It continued its firing. Eventually, the Massive was hit by one of the smaller cannons, disabling one of the main thrusters, limiting its flight capability.

"Can we make it back to the surface!" Scoodge was nervous. "It appears so. But judging by the damage, we can't engage in combat until it's repaired."

The Massive flew back to Irk with a trail of smoke. It was all going wrong. How could the mighty Irken Empire and their military be defeated by such a foe? Who really were their assailants? And what was the purpose for this?

* * *

Zim stood in front of the monitor in his base alongside Gaz. Zim was going to contact Irk and announce his marriage to Gaz. The people would be joyed to hear that their Tallest had found a Queen. It had been a long time since Irk had a Queen.

Zim was about to push the button that established the connection when the screen flashed on its own. On it were the panicked faces of Red and Purple.

"My Tallest! ZIM!" Purple was screaming at top his lungs while running around in the background.

"What the!" Zim was shocked as was Gaz. They could see that the place was in a clutter. As if it were just hit by a small bomb.

"We're being attacked! We're evacuating now!" Red stated as he picked up a few items that were laying around.

"What is this! Who dares to attack our empire let alone our home planet!" "We don't know." the screen died and static came back.

"Zim." Gaz reached out for his hand and held it tight. She too felt what he was feeling. Fear. "What does this mean, Zim?"

"I don't know, my love. But if this is what I think… Earth is no longer safe. We are all in danger." Zim's eyes turned to a very serious look.

"We Irkens are the strongest race in the whole universe. We have subjugated countless foes and captured numerous planets for our own use."

Zim led Gaz to a pair of seats that were beside his computer.

"If whoever did this can defeat us, we are all doomed." for once in her life, Gaz was seriously fearing for the worst.

* * *

That's chapter 4 for ya. Chapter 5 is in the process so wait patiently, my loyal pig-smellies. Heeheehee

Raruku out~ Enjoy the double release. Chapter 5 is in the making, yeah!


	5. Chapter 5: Arrival

Oh yeah! My brains on fire and the ideas are flooding in! Whoohoo~ UPDATES!

Disclaimer: You know, we know, hell even the scary monkey knows that I don't own Invader Zim.

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CHAPTER V: Arrival

The day after Zim had gotten the sudden message from the Taller. His mind was flooded with thoughts… a lot of them. He was not torn, torn between his people and the one he loved. How did things get like this? How sudden it all was just like a flash of light, so fast and it left him confused. Sure, he loved Gaz with all his Squeedily Spooch and wanted to always be by his Queen's side but his people were also top priority. What kind of leader would he be if he abandoned those who had looked up to him, those who rely on him to lead them to a bright and shining future? But aside from that, he contemplated about Earth. If things were going as he thought they would, it would not be long before Earth itself is engulfed in the flames of a universal war… a war that no human could hope to win. Humans were too young, too fresh in the grand scheme of things. Evolution was kind and human intelligence was promising but humans lacked resources and time. They were a race bound only to such a limited time of life. Zim was burdened.

Gaz watched as the tense Irken paced around his lab. He looked so very deep in thought. Gaz wanted to console him, to let him know it's going to be fine… but that was just the exact opposite. She knew all too well that everything was not right, that this could mean the end of their very race. She herself at one point in her life had wanted to end all life but that was behind her now. She had grown, matured to the point of which she knew that humans deserved a second chance, despite being incredulously stupid. She had already contacted Dib who was already on the way. Dib had asked why the sudden summons and why her voice seemed all shaky but she just told him to be quick and she'd explain when he arrived.

Moments later, a knock on the door was heard and the two rushed up to greet Dib. Opening the door, Dib had in his hands a medium sized box tied up and wrapped. It was a present. Dib had known that Zim was going to propose to his sister. He thought that this was them telling him about the engagement but he thought wrong. He gazed upon the stricken look on Zim's face and knew that something was up. Walking into the house, he placed the gift aside and the three sat on the sofa.

"What happened?" Dib asked Zim. "…" Zim remained silent, trying to think and find the right words.

"His planet-" Gaz had spoken in Zim's stead. "His planet's been attacked." Zim lowered his head, saddened by what Gaz had just said.

"What the! But Zim, aren't you the strongest race in the universe? Surely you'd win the fight!" Zim did not gloat about his Irken heritage like usual. He remained silent, lifting his head to look at Dib.

"We didn't win, Dib." Dib was struck by the statement. How could they not win? "But Zim, how could your race lose out? You've conquered numerous planets in the past. How could you lose this one battle?" Dib planted his hand on Zim's shoulder, trying to comfort the grief filled alien.

"I don't know how Dib." there was a change in Zim's expression. "But one thing is fore sure…" there was a slight pause. "I WILL NOT REST UNTIL I ANNIHALATE THEM!" Zim had regained some of his juice, finally showing some sign that he was back to his old self. "The mighty Irken Empire will not fall! I will defeat them, me. I am ZIM!" Zim raised a finger into the air, full belief in his capabilities. Back then this could be taken as an empty notion but now, this was indeed a declaration. This was war. Zim was going to fight.

"That's the spirit, buddy!" Dib threw a punch in the air, encouraging Zim. "Yeah. We can get through this." Gaz reached for his hand and held it gently.

He looked at both of them as they each threw him a smile. For once in this whole day he now felt that there was a slight glimmer of hope.

"First things first. let's go down to my lab. I need to talk to somebody, anybody from Irk."

The trio descended down into the lab, the lift taking them directly to the computer room. When they had arrived, Zim walked over to the console and pressed a few buttons here and there and in an instant the screen came alive with static, then replaced by the Irken symbol.

"Computer. Establish a connection to the Massive." the screen came alive with the face of Scoodge. "Scoodge!" Zim was not at all surprised. "Situation? Tell me!" Scoodge saluted.

"My almighty Tallest. I am saddened to say this but we have evacuated Irk. The planet… has fallen." "Fear not Scoodge. Whoever did this, I will not forgive them and let them go unharmed. I will rain down upon them the full might of the Irken Empire!" Zim pounded his fist onto the console. "That hurts! Don't do that!" the computer gave a sudden outburst but Zim disregarded it.

"Where are the Taller?" Zim searched the screen for any signs of the two familiarly tall Irkens. "They're on the Impendia." "The Impendia?" Zim wondered. "It's been completed already?" Scoodge nodded as a sign of yes. "They're actually heading for Earth, to you, Zim."

"What about you Scoodge? Where are you heading?"

"The entire Irken Armada is currently retreating to the planet Devastis. From there we will resupply and reform. We will await you there, my Tallest." Scoodge saluted and the screen died once more. The transmission was over.

"Wait a sec—you have a ship coming to Earth?" Dib asked. "It appears so. They should be here any moment." replied Zim. Irken ships could just go to warp speed and arrive anywhere in just a matter of minutes.

Suddenly, the screen came alive again. This time, the faces of Red and Purple were on it.

"My Tallest. We're currently orbiting Earth on the Impendia. We're sending down a ship for you." Zim nodded in affirmation and the screen died.

The whole base began to shake. The three quickly made their way to the top and out of the house. Floating there just above the open space in front of Zim's house was an Irken vessel. They quickly got under it and it beamed them up. Up in the hull,, they laid eyes on a familiar face.

"Admiral Tak reporting for duty, my Tallest!" the female Irken saluted Zim. This was new to Tak for Zim was taller than her by a whole lot. Aside from that, she still bore a bit of resentment to her new leader.

"Hey there Tak." Dib waved at her and smiled. "Ah, it's been a while Dib. Still fiddling with my ship?" Tak questioned him. "Not really. It's just holed up in my garage."

Tak shot a glance at Gaz. Gaz stared back with slanted eyes. "Hey there… crazy wench." Tak hissed. "Let it go, human. It's all in the past."

"Yes, yes, it is good to reminisce but let us make haste! Quick, to the Impendia!" Zim interrupted the about-to-blow-up argument between the two females.

The ship quickly exited Earth's atmosphere and flew into space. There, they could all see the Impendia in all its glory. The ship docked within the Impendia. When t hey exited the Irken craft, they were greeted by the Taller Red and Purple.

"My Tallest." both of them said in unison, bowing at the same time. "Welcome aboard the Impendia."

"Yes. I have arrived."

* * *

That's it and it's done! Chapter 5 was a bit hurried on my part since I just got the idea right after uploading the last 2 chapters! I just needed to work out some stuff and here it is. Chapter 6 is up next and who knows what could happen. Keep on reading, R&R and thanks!

I somewhat neglected Gir in this chap. Maybe I'll add him in in the next one. along with mini-moose.

Raruku out~


	6. Chapter 6: Old Friends

The sixth chapter is here. I kinda feel that the last one was more of a filler than a real addition to the story. Anyways, since my school is starting again, updates might be slow. I might be able to update once a week. I promise to ALWAYS update, though. Please, continue to read on and thanks for your reviews!

DISCLAIMER: How many more times to do I need to say that I don't own it? Invader Zim does not belong to me.

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Chapter VI: Old Friends

Zim, Gaz, Dib, the Taller and Tak sat there at a round table. Here they were about to discuss on what course of action they were to take.

"Tell me exactly of the situation, my Taller." Zim looked to the two Irkens sitting across from him. "To start off, they just appeared out of nowhere." stated Purple.

"Exactly. They just came out of hyper space near the outer border." said Red. "We tried to establish communications…" Purple cut in "But we couldn't access their signal." Purple finished Red's sentence. "Then they contacted us and next thing we know is that we're being attacked. Invaded, as they said." Red put his hand over Purple's mouth, hoping he wouldn't add anything stupid.

Zim sat on the edge of his chair, his hands locked together as he rested his chin on them. Gaz and Dib were beside him, whispering to each other, both inaudible to him.

"Why would they attack us? What purpose does attacking us contain?" Zim wondered. "What could they possibly gain from their actions…?"

"Anyway, we're heading for Devastis. The whole Armada is regrouping there. From there on, we will decide on what course of action to take." Red looked at his ledger.

"Well then, I shall be heading to the control room." Tak saluted and headed off through a door.

The meeting continued for minutes more with the same topic. Even plans for their attack were discussed. After the meeting had finished, Zim and Gaz retreated to a private room on the Impendia, a room that was made for the Tallest. Gaz sat down on what looked like a bed while Zim stared off into space through a window, his hands held behind his back.

"Gaz. You need to return to Earth." Zim broke the silence with his words, still looking out into the black expanse. "Why?" Gaz asked.

"It's not safe for you here. I do not want anything to happen to you, my love." Zim said as he looked over his shoulder.

There was silence. Zim could hear footsteps. Gaz's footsteps. They came to a halt behind him and he turned around to face her but instead was greeted by a hard smack to the face. Gaz's punch had landed dead center on the left side of his cheek. He rubbed it with his hand, trying to ease the pain.

"What was that for!" Zim shouted. "Do you honestly think I'd be safe on Earth!" Gaz yelled back at him. "If these things can defeat your race then what are the odds that I stay safe on Earth!" Zim shrunk in his place. "For all we know, they could be heading for Earth right now!" Gaz lowered her head. "I don't… I don't want you to leave me again, Zim!" Zim saw a glob of liquid fall unto the floor. He knew she was now crying. "If you go… this time you may never come back! I don't want that!" Gaz gripped tightly onto the front of Zim's shirt.

Zim placed his hands on her shoulders, comforting her. He realized that he did make Gaz wait and now just when he had returned he was about to leave her again. And she was right. Who knew if this battle was one he could come back from. For once in his entire life, Zim had feared dying. As an Irken Invader, he was trained not to fear anything, even death. But this… he feared more than anything. The thought of no longer being able to lay eyes upon her, the notion that he would no longer be able to feel her touch again made him filled with worry.

Placing his head gently beside her ear, he whispered. "I promise. I will never leave you. Zim will be here." she looked up at him and he wiped away her tears.

As their eyes locked in that moment, so did their lips. Once again, they were in a passionate struggle with each other, each one of them trying to dominate the other with only their mouths. They pulled each other closer and closer, their bodies fully against each other. Zim's hands then began to move on their own, caressing different parts of her body. Gaz did not resist, she welcomed his movements. Finally parting from the kiss, Zim hoisted her up into his arms and slowly walked towards the bed. Gently placing her down, she retreated from the edge of the bed to the centre while motioning to Zim to join her. Zim got onto the bed and she pushed him under her. This time, she dominated him as she forced her lips onto his. Zim fought back, trying to win over her strength but at the same time, he wanted to give in. Slowly, his hands found their way to the bottom of her shirt and began to pull them off her. Parting for a few seconds, she removed her top on her own and kissed him again. Slowly, her hands moved onto the bottom of his shirt, lifting it up and eventually, she got him out of his shirt. The two continued to undress until both of them were bare before each other, their naked bodies fully exposed.

"Gaz… are you sure you want this…?" Zim looked into her eyes. "…Yes." Gaz smiled lovingly as she answered him.

Gaz gazed upon Zim's body. It was green and similar to that of a human except for the fact that he didn't have a navel. He was muscular even though on the outside he looked like a scrawny stick. She ran her hand down his body and placed another kiss on him.

Gaz gave herself to Zim and they began to make love for the very first time in their time together. It was an incredibly special moment for both of them, the one moment in their lives when they had become united as one. With every move Zim made, he began to understand Gaz's wants and granted them as they continued on. She too had understood what he wanted and let go of all restrictions. This was no longer a struggle for who would dominate who; this was the beginning of the union the two would forever share in. And in this moment of sheer happiness, they felt as if that if they always had each other, they could tackle anything in the whole damn universe, even the Gods themselves.

Zim woke up not knowing what time it was since they were in outer space. Sitting up in his spot, he looked at his bride-to-be who was still asleep beside him. He gazed upon her face and realized just how beautiful she was, just how precious she was to him. He felt a tingle in his Squeedily Spooch that he felt only when looking or thinking of her. He smiled pecked her on the cheek. This action had woken her up and she slowly opened her eyes.

"Hey." Gaz said gently. She was still groggy not to mention exhausted. She gave a faint smile and Zim stroked her face with his hand, being as gentle as possible.

In the next room, Dib sat on a floating chair. He was enthralled with the alien device that allowed him to laze about yet move around with ease. He noticed the door open and in walked in the familiar short female Irken. Tak, eyes slanted, looked in wonder at how Dib was entertained by such a trivial thing. Getting of his new found toy, Dib greeted Tak.

"Hey, Tak. What is it?" Tak's eyes returned to normal "I noticed something upon the female mate of our Tallest." Dib's eyes grew wider. "Something on her?" Dib wondered what Tak meant.

"A strange stone upon her finger. It had a most unusual colour." Dib remembered the ring Zim had bought for Gaz. "Oh, that. That's an engagement ring Zim gave to my sister." a look of curiosity ventured onto Tak's face. "They're getting married." Dib finished. Tak's jaw dropped.

"Married? What is this thing you speak of?" Tak questioned. "In other terms, they're going to be, how do you put it… mated?" Tak's eyes grew lager than ever. "MATED!"

Tak screamed and ran out the door, her voice echoing throughout the corridors of the ship.

Red and Purple were in the main control room, snacks in their hands. They were gorging themselves on some much needed donuts that they were deprived of when they were too busy trying to get away from Irk. They turned their gaze to a running Irken screaming at the top of her lungs. It was Tak.

"My Taller! I have news about the Tallest!" Tak tried to catch her breath. "What is it, Admiral? Report." ordered Red. "Our Tallest… has found a mate!" Red and Purple dropped their snacks and the crew surrounding them hastily snatched the dropped food.

Zim and Gaz walked into the control room with Gaz's arm wrapped around his. Zim stared in wonder at why his subordinates Red and Purple were in a state of being frozen. They just seemed to have been locked in a time stasis field. "REACTIVATING." a computer voice from Red and Purple's Paks sounded and a slight electric shock brought back the two Irkens.

"My Tallest! You have a mate!" Red exclaimed. "And what's worse, it's her!" Purple screamed at the top of his lungs while pointing to the scary Earthling.

Red and Purple did not oppose nor question Zim's orders or decisions but this one was something they wanted to object to. No, they were not against Zim choosing to be mated to a being of another race but rather because it was Gaz. They knew all to well what she was capable of. The words DOOM echoed in their minds.

"We're doomed." Gaz shot a glare at the two Irkens that shut them up. "Yes, this is my Queen. From now on, you shall obey her like you do me."

Zim had now officially announced his union with Gaz. All that was left was to inform his whole race. Red and Purple once again began to scream, Tak joining them.

They were in for a longer ride than they thought.

* * *

That's chapter 6. Once again, I think this is more of a filler. But hell, I'll make sure the next one has more content to add to the main plot of the story. They'll FINALLY be on Devastis in the next one.

Till then, take care my fellow Invaders.

I am Raruku~ RARUKU! oh, BTW, I'm also in the process of making a prequel to this. One of how Zim and Gaz started out. If you want me to make it, send me a PM.


	7. Chapter 7: Loss

Here ya go! Chapter 7! Like I stated in the last one, this will add more to the story to allow it to progress. I just went through a strange romance filled rut and the **IDEA SQUIRELL **was still busy trying to bust open his **IDEA NUTZ**. Well, I'm also trying to update as quickly as I can before school starts. If this keeps up, I might be able to add round 2-4 chapters each time I update.

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Invader Zim.

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Chapter VII: Loss

The Impendia docked at Devastis. Outside the docking bay were several Irken soldiers along with some of the Invaders from Operation Impending Doom II. The doors to the ship opened and out walked Zim along with Gaz and their companions. The grouped Irkens before him then began to wiggle their antennae in salute to their leader and vice-leaders. Zim walked off the platform with Gaz and made their way to a meeting room that was just within the base. Dib took in the sights with delight. Seeing such an advanced, technologically at least, alien race was something he had always wanted. Finally arriving at the room, they all once again sat at another round table.

Zim sat beside Gaz and across from them were the Taller. Dib sat at the other end of the table along with Tak and Scoodge.

"Alright. The entire Irken armada is currently forming up as we speak." They all listened to Scoodge. "In exactly 24 hours, we will begin an assault on our enemies. They have taken over our home planet, Irk." a hologram appeared behind Scoodge. He brought out a stick and pointed to an enemy ship displayed on the projection. "From what we have gathered, this is the enemy's main ship and the strongest one in their fleet. If this goes down, we can easily overwhelm them." Gaz thought back to the Impendia and raised her hand. "Your ship out there looks more than capable of going up against it." Red shook his head. "No. The Impendia wasn't built for war. Despite being a Domination Class Battleship, it hasn't even been properly outfitted with weapons."

"The only ship we have that has immense power is the Massive." said Scoodge. "But… it's still currently under repair. But within the 24 hour time frame, it should be operational again."

The doors to the room opened and in walked an Irken soldier who stopped beside Red. Red bent down and listened to what the soldier whispered into his ear.

"We have some good news. We just got word that the Vortians are willing to help us. They've already dispatched a fleet that will be arriving shortly." everyone smiled at the news.

"Now that you mention it Red, what do we do with the Impendia. It's practically useless… aside from being really cool." Purple asked. "I dunno. What do you think, Zim?"

"Hmm… we need every ship we can use. As for the Impendia, let's send it to Vort. We can have it outfitted there."

"But sir." Tak spoke. "We need every soldier and we can't spare anyone to send to Vort." Dib raised his hand. "I'll go!" Zim and Gaz both looked at Dib.

"But Dib!" Gaz exclaimed. "This isn't about fun and games. This really is a war. You could die!" Gaz voice shrunk with the thought of losing her only brother.

"True, Dib. Who knows what could happen if we let you go on the Impendia." Zim was also quite concerned with Dib's sudden suggestion. "You're my friend, Dib. I do not want to lose you. It would sadden both me and Gaz."

"Fine!" Tak pounded on the table. "I'll go with the human. You have Scoodge here anyway. He is more than capable of leading an attack." Tak saluted and stood up to leave. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have a ship to prepare." Tak walked out the doors. "I guess this is goodbye for now." Dib scratched at the back of his head. "Stay safe, Dib." Gaz gave her brother a little punch on the arm. "Don't worry Dib. Tak is with you. She is a very resourceful soldier. She will protect you if any danger should arise." Zim shook Dib's hand. After their parting words, Dib waved a final time and walked out the doors.

"Well." Red stood up. "I think that's all we need to discuss." the meeting ended and the two Taller floated out the door. Scoodge saluted to Zim and followed the others. Zim and Gaz stayed behind in the room. Gaz gripped Zim's hand, her grip unusually tight but Zim knew what caused this.

"Don't worry. I assure you Dib will be fine. He's in Tak's hands, after all." Zim assured her. "That's exactly why." a scowl crossed Gaz's face. "She's a psycho bitch!"

Zim chuckled. "Yes, she may be a psycho bitch but she's one of the best."

A few minutes later, the two left the room and looked up into the sky. From there, they saw as the Impendia broke the planet's atmosphere and up into the far reaches of space. Gaz was worried for her brother and hoped that nothing would befall him. Zim led Gaz into his designated quarters in the base. Gaz relaxed on the bed while Zim fiddled with a computer. He pressed a few buttons here and there and made a transmission.

"Squeak!" came the voice from the monitor. "Yes. I'm sorry for leaving on such short notice. How is everything?" Zim asked mini-Moose who floated happily on the screen. "SQUEAK!"

"What? Gir nearly destroyed the whole neighbourhood trying to look for me? Where is he!" Zim yelled into the monitor. "Squeak/." mini-Moose bobbed up and down some more.

"Ah, very good then. Keep him there. Just make sure to keep bribing him with Tequitos." Zim ended the transmission.

"What was that about?" Gaz looked to Zim while lazing about. "Nothing much. Just contacting back home and checking."

Suddenly, the ground shook violently and a loud blast was heard in the distance. Alarms all over the base sounded off and a soldier burst through the door of Zim's room/

"My Tallest! We're under attack!" the soldier fell to the floor as the whole base shook again. "What the! Quick! Get to the main control room!" Zim grabbed Gaz's hand and dragged her along the corridors, making his way to the control room in the base. When he got there, he found Red and Purple staring at a large screen that displayed what was attacking them.

"Is that them!" Zim was shocked by the number of enemy ships that were on the screen. "Yup. That's them. But how did they know we were on Devastis…?" Purple flew to one of the consoles and sent a transmission to the Massive. "Scoodge! Status?" Scoodge was fidgeting. "T-t-the Massive is at 89% functionality. We can launch now if you want." Red thought it over before giving an order. "Are you sure that it can take combat?" Red asked before proceeding to a decision. "I don't know. But if this keeps up, we'll lose the whole Armada!" Red gritted his teeth. "RED!" Purple yelled to him. "Fine! Launch the Massive!"

Up in space, Irken ships were already engaged in all out conflict with the enemy. Ships zoomed around and about, firing lasers at each other but much like the previous battle, only the Irkens were losing ships while the enemy retained their numbers, none falling victim to the attacks. The Massive pulled into the center of the Irken Armada and began charging it's main laser cannon. It fired and made contact with an enemy vessel and still much like before, did nothing to it.

"DAMN IT! Why can't we break their shields!" Scoodge tugged at his antenna.

Zim and the others stared in horror at the screen as their numbers dwindles slowly, their ships blowing up in the fight. "Wait! Look over there!" Purple pointed to the top left of the screen where another fleet had just come out of hyper space. "It's the Vortian fleet."

"All right, boys! Let's bring it to 'em hard!" Lard Nar yelled from his seat to the Resisty members. Shloonktapooxis was beside him, floating happily as always with his tongue sticking out. "Yeah! Im'ma fire the laser!" he began to hop onto a button which let out a constant stream of laser fire onto the enemy ships.

The Resisty ship flew past most of the enemy vessels but like their Irken allies, did not manage to down one craft. Making it's way Devastis, it evaded all enemy fire and safely made entry into the planet's gravitational field. The heat of re-entry swept across the ship making it burn like a fireball as it came down from the skies. It docked at the base and Zim, Gaz and the Taller went to greet the newcomers.

The doors opened to reveal Lard Nar on his chair, calling to them. "Get on! We're leaving!" Zim shook his head in disapproval. "We can't! We have soldiers out there! I can't abandon them and just escape!" "He's right. We can't just run away." Gaz chased after Zim who had already run back to the control room. The Taller on the other hand climbed onboard the Resisty ship.

"Why so eager to leave, Nar?" wondered Red. "You will address me as Lard Nar, thank you. And the reason why we want to leave now is that we saw something up there." Lard Nar searched his memory. "It was a large ship in the back of the enemy fleet. One of our ships picked up an energy signature from it… it was a class 1 supernova reading. Any minute now, they're going to fire and anything on this whole planet is going to be toast!" the Taller's jaws dropped and they both ran out of the ship to inform Zim.

In the control room, Zim was busy with the consoles. He instructed Gaz to do things and she willingly obeyed every command. They were doing their best to keep things going. Zim did not want to abandon his people. The doors burst open and in walked Red and Purple accompanied by a few soldiers.

"Zim! We have to leave or we're toast!" Red pulled on Zim's arm. "No. We can't! That's a coward's way out! I will not abandon our whole Armada!" Zim yelled as he shrugged of Red's hand.

"We have no time to explain! We really have to go NOW!" Purple started to scream really loud and in a very annoying manner. "That's it! Seize them!" Red ordered and the soldiers with him took hold of Gaz. "Hey! Let me go!" Gaz flailed around, trying to get the soldiers off her. "Hey! What do you think you're doing!" Zim exclaimed as he saw them take Gaz away.

"You leave is no choice Zim. We really, really, really, REALLY HAVE TO GO!" the guards seized Zim and dragged him out towards the docking bay. They tossed Zim and Gaz into the Resisty ship and before they could run back out, it quickly took off. After making it into space, Zim grew tired of pouding against the door and went to ship's helm. Gaz followed behind him. When Zim got there, he saw Scoodge's face on the screen.

"Sir. Please leave the combat zone and go to Vort." Scoodge saluted to his leaders. "Scoodge! I order you to turn the Massive around and follow us! Send the retreat signal!" Scoodge shook his head. "No, sir. We must defend you with our lives. Please… leave." a small tear ran down Scoodge's face. He saluted once more and the screen went blank.

The Resisty ship began to fly faster, trying to achieve as much distance from the enemy as possible.

"How much longer until we can get into hyper speed?" Lard Nar looked to one of the pilots. "About a minute sir. We're charging the main power core."

*ALERT!* The alarm went off like mad inside the ship. "Sir! We're picking up an energy signature. Their aiming at us!" "Is it the class 1 supernova from earlier?" Lard Nar asked with fear.

"Yes sir. It's the same one. They're aiming at us!" screams started inside the room. "We're doomed!" Shloonktapooxis began to spin out of control as he darted about the place.

"DAMN IT ALL!" Lard Nar screamed. Red and Purple clung to each other while they themselves began to flail about and whine. Zim and Gaz held hands as their final moment together was about to come.

"No! I won't let them!" the screen came alive with Scoodge on it. "Don't worry! I'll protect you, my Tallest!" Scoodge proclaimed at the top of his lungs.

A bright beam of light shot out from one of the enemy ships and quickly flew across space. Just before it hit the Resisty ship, the Massive had quickly pulled in front of it and took the whole blow. A blinding flash emanated from the Impact and the Massive vanished completely.

"SCOODGE!" Zim yelled.

Zim fell unto his knees, his head lowered. His whole being trembled. Gaz knelt down beside him, tears in her eyes. She placed her arms around Zim and tried to comfort him.

"Zim…" Gaz said gently. "Sir! We're going into hyper space now." one of the pilots said.

The Resisty ship quickly entered hyper space and vanished from view. Once the whole Armada saw the Massive blow up, they began to scatter and leave the fight, retreating to anywhere. It appears that before the Massive took the blast, it had already sent out an order to retreat.

Once gain, they were defeated but they escaped with their lives at the cost of a great sacrifice.

* * *

Chapter 7 ends here and I really hope you liked it. I think this is the longest chapter I ever wrote. Like as always, I'm in the process of working on 8. It'll be up soon so look forward to that. I dunno if it'll be a filler or part of main plot but I'm sure it'll work out in the end, right?

Hey, I think I might add some DATR into my fic. Give me reviews and I might consider it. It's either that or a nice PM. Remember people, R&R!


	8. Chapter 8: I Want To Buy New Clothes

"Hoping to fry my brain to death, I smoked some primo crystal meth."

-Gregory House M.D-

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Invader Zim nor do I own House M.D! Although I love both of them~

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Chapter VIII: I Want To Buy New Clothes

Zim was silent throughout the whole trip. Gaz tried hard to get a word out of him but he just ignored her. Zim was totally devastated by the things he had just witnessed. Not only did he see first hand how his race was defeated but he also saw the death of one of his close friends. Scoodge was a good soldier, Invader and companion. Zim recalled when the two of them were still in the academy and how they got along so well in the past. Scoodge's passing weigh heavily on Zim's Squeedily Spooch. It was just too much to bear. Eventually, he holed himself up in a private room on the Resisty ship, not even letting Gaz inside. Gaz just stood with her back against the wall beside the door, no longer trying to get in the room. The hallway was empty until Gaz saw Red floating towards her.

"My Queen." Gaz was bewildered by the sudden greeting. "Queen?" Gaz asked. "Yes. From now on, you are the Queen of the Irken Empire. Well, since we are an empire, maybe Empress would be a bit more fitting." Gaz chuckled. She never thought the day would come when she could rule an entire race. "Is he still holed up in there?" Red stared at the door.

It suddenly opened to reveal Zim who looked like a zombie. "ZIM!" Gaz and Red said in unison. "…" Zim remained silent. He tried to block out everything.

Gaz's right hand then curled into a fist as she began to grit her teeth. She was getting annoyed at Zim's display of ignorance towards her. "Leave me alone." said Zim.

That was the final straw for Gaz. Here she had stood for nearly 2 hours just trying to get in and talk to him and now he just tells her to leave him alone. No longer being able to hold back, Gaz let loose on Zim as she landed a punch to his stomach. "Aghh!" Zim curled into a ball as he grasped his belly. He was writhing on the floor in pain. Gaz jumped onto him and grabbed his collar, pulling him up.

"What the hell do you think you're doing ignoring me like that!" Zim could see flames in her eyes. She was absolutely furious with him. "Stop acting like a child or else I will raise hell on you." her voice had strangely resembled a demon's.

Zim raised his arms and blocked his face with his hands in an attempt to protect himself from Gaz's anger. "Don't hurt Zim!" he yelled. "WHAT DID I TELL YOU ABOUT SPEAKING IN THIRD PERSON!" Gaz's fury grew bigger. Red could swear that she was about to kill their Tallest. "My Queen! Please, release him." Gaz heeded his words and let Zim drop onto the floor once more. "Whiner." Gaz walked away down the hall and out of sight, leaving Red with Zim.

"My Tallest. You have to stop blaming yourself." he helped Zim up from the floor. "Scoodge is dead, my Taller." Zim turned away from Red. "It's all my fault." Zim blamed himself again.

Red couldn't help himself and gave Zim a smack to the face. "Stop it! You're acting like a smeet!" Red complained as he hit Zim again.

"What is there left! Scoodge is gone and our entire Armada has retreated! I failed all of you as a leader." Zim's voice trailed off as he finished. Red shouted at Zim's face, making him cringe.

"You're our leader Zim. You can't act like this. Yes, we lost a good soldier out there today but we can't let that stop us. We can't just give-up and let them take over." Red placed his hand on Zim's shoulder. "Come one, Zim. You're the Tallest of our empire and you have a Queen that loves you. Stand tall and lead us." finishing his words of encouragement, Red left Zim and floated off down the other end of the corridor. Zim watched him turn the corner then felt a nudge in his back.

"So. Back to reality now?" Gaz said as she elbowed Zim in the back once more. "Yes. I think it's time I quit moping around." Zim turned around to face Gaz.

"Although I'm still depressed." Zim smiled. "I know something that'll cheer you up." Gaz grabbed Zim's hand and dragged him into the room, a hint of mischief in her eyes.

An hour later, Zim and Gaz emerged from the room, both looking absolutely exhausted. "That was amazing, Zim. Where did you learn to do that?" Gaz held onto Zim for support.

"Irkens have many talents. Especially with our tongues!" Purple floated down the hall and spotted them. "What's with the talk about Irken tongues?" Gaz smirked. "Wouldn't you like to know?"

Purple blinked in curiosity and stuck out his own tongue and began to poke it himself. Red came by just then and noticed his partner's stupid actions. "What are you doing, Pur?" he stared in wonder. Shaking his head, he let his attention transfer from Purple to Zim and Gaz.

"I see you're back to your normal self again, Zim. Now, come to the helm. We're within Vort territory now. You can see the planet, too." Red grabbed Purple by the collar and dragged him along. Purple was still fiddling with his tongue, though. "Fome on? Fhats fith our founges?" Purple shouted out at Zim and Gaz who laughed at him.

Zim and Gaz made their way to the main room and from there they could see the planet Vort well in view. It was a very technologically based planet, it had satellites floating around everywhere and even from space one could see the planet surface cluttered about with buildings of great sizes. Soon enough, the ship had reached the planet's pull and made entry. The ship came down into the Vortian capital city and flew to a large docking structure. Upon coming in, they saw in one of the ports that the Impendia was already there, being attended to by hovering robots and Vortians. When they finished docking, Zim and Gaz were met by familiar faces outside the ship. Dib stood there smiling at them beside Tak who saluted to her leaders.

"My Tallest and my Taller. Welcome to planet Vort. I… have heard the news. I am saddened by our loss." Tak stood steady without faltering. "Yes. Scoodge's death is a great loss for the empire." Zim walked up to her and knelt down. He patted her shoulder. "But we must progress. Now, what of the Impendia?" Zim turned to look at the massive ship. The Resisty ship was like a shrimp compared to it.

"It's a marvellous ship. Quite amazing… simply astounding." a voice was heard as a familiar Vortian came walking up to them. He was dressed in a lab gown.

"Ah, prisoner 777. Well, no longer a prisoner now." the small Vortian laughed. "Hahahaha. Just call me Dok." he turned his gaze to the Impendia. "I designed it, you know. I know exactly what to put on it." a smile crept onto Dok's face. Red and Purple floated beside him. "We'll do the planning. You go get some rest, Zim." Red pointed to a door that led to a transport.

"Go have some fun with your mate." said Purple who waved goodbye. "Oh, and bring back some snacks!" Tak walked off and followed the Taller and Dok leaving Zim, Gaz and Dib together.

"I'm glad you're safe, sis." Dib smiled at Gaz. "You too, Zim."

"Yes. But I assure you, I will not let this go unpunished. They will pay dearly once the Armada is reformed." Zim had an evil look about him.

"Yeah. We'll doom them together, sweetie." Gaz kissed Zim on the cheek. He turned to look at her and scanned her with his eyes. "Now that we're here, maybe we should enjoy the sights and get some stuff. I… want to but new clothes for you." Zim blushed a bit as he said those words to Gaz. "Why?" Gaz wondered why Zim had gotten the sudden interest in her fashion.

"I… want you to have clothes that befit a queen." Gaz's heart leapt. "Oh, that's so sweet, Zim." she placed another kiss on his cheek. Dib raised an eyebrow at their sweetness.

"You two seem to be getting along quite well." he mused. "Yes. Anyway, let's go." Zim was excited to get Gaz new clothes.

The three walked off towards the awaiting transport to have some rest, relaxation and some fun.

* * *

DONE! That's the end for chapter 8 so await the next one! Anyway, I just went through a day filled with House M.D and who knows how many episodes I've seen? Chappy nine is in the works so wait for it. Unless of course I do a super duper mega update and add it along. So, see you around guys.

Raruku out~


	9. Chapter 9: More Old Faces

"I want to shine on you and always like the dazzling sun, I will defend you from all the darkness, this is the truth from my heart."

-from the song SHINE by L'Arc~en~Ciel-

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Invader Zim nor the rights to L'Arc~en~Ciel! Still, all hail Zim and the mighty J-Rock band!

* * *

Chapter IX: More Old Faces

The transport took the trio to a hotel in the main city where they checked in and made reservations. Since they didn't have any luggage they didn't have to spend too much time in the room. Zim and Gaz had already decided to go get some new clothes but Dib on the other hand decided to stay in the hotel room. He said he would probably go back to the port and help out with the Impendia. He also said that he'd tell the Taller where they were staying so that they could be contacted anytime.

Zim and Gaz walked to a nearby shopping district which was cluttered with different types of races. There were Vortians, some from Meekrob and even some Plookeeshians. There were some Irkens here and there who bowed every time they saw Zim, greeting him and referring to him as their Tallest. But the attention was not upon Zim but mostly on Gaz. Most of the aliens there were staring at her, wondering from what planet she was or what race she belonged to. After all, humans had not yet achieved the means to do space travel. The different races just shot her stares or looks of wonder, nothing at all alerting. Some were even polite enough to stop and say hello but Gaz didn't understand their language and Zim had to translate. After wading through the sea of people, they came to a store that appeared to sell clothes. They stepped inside and saw a wide assortment of garments, every one nearly of every color. Aside from that, they had strange designs and markings on them. _'So this is what aliens like to wear, huh?' _Gaz thought as she picked out a dress and checked it out. Leaving Gaz to look around, Zim approached the counter. There was no one there. He looked around but there wasn't even an attendant. He found a bell on the counter and decided to push it, letting it ring out. Instantly, a person sprung up from behind the counter and what's more, from out of nowhere. She was female and actually an Irken.

"How may I help you? My name is Tenn." she said happily. "Wait a sec—you seem familiar… Invader Tenn!" Zim was shocked.

"Well I'm no longer an Invader but yeah, I am Tenn. I'm sorry, who are you?" she asked Zim. "I am Zim!" Zim raised a finger into the air, proclaiming his name.

"ZIM!" Tenn got out from behind the counter and began to bow profusely. "I'm sorry my Tallest. I did not realize it was you. I've been away for so long!"

"You can stop bowing now." Zim ordered her. "You quit being an Invader?"

"Yeah. It was after the whole Meekrob thing. The malfunctioning SIR units I got ate everything and I couldn't complete my mission. I was so ashamed of my failure that I asked the control brain to revoke my Invader status. I'm just a civilian now. I own this shop, though." she looked around and saw Gaz. She was instantly interested in the strange being she saw.

"Who is she, my Tallest? It's the first time I've laid eyes on such a being." Tenn looked up to Zim who was significantly taller than her. "She is my mate. In other words, your queen."

Tenn's jaw dropped. "QUEEN! What a joyous day! Irk finally has a queen!" a joyous tone in her voice. "As you can see, we're picking out clothes."

Tenn walked over to Gaz and bowed before speaking. "My Queen, allow me to dress you. I have the best clothes in stock for you." she bowed once more.

Gaz chuckled. "Great. Now the bowing starts." she looked over to Zim who gave her a thumbs-up. "Okay then, show me what you have." Tenn stopped her bowing.

"Yes, my Queen. Come with me." Tenn lead Gaz to the back of the store, leaving Zim to wait outside.

In the back, Gaz was already down to her underwear in a changing room while Tenn was handing her clothes through the door. Since they started, she couldn't keep count of all the items she'd gone through let alone the things that Tenn still had in mind. Zim had decided to go and get a snack seeing that it could take a while before Gaz was done. It was nearing an hour when Zim returned to the store and still there was no sign of Gaz or Tenn. They were still in the back.

"Wait. I like this one." Gaz said through the door. "My Queen, may I see?" she asked. Gaz let the door swing open. "That does look rather good. I like it." Tenn clapped her hands in approval.

Zim was licking on his ice cream when he heard Tenn's voice. "My Tallest. I present to you your lovely Queen." Gaz walked out from behind the store. "Do you like it, Zim?" Gaz asked.

Zim's ice cream fell off its cone and landed on the floor. His jaw had dropped, his eyes wide in disbelief. "You're… you're beautiful!" Zim couldn't believe that he was still staring at Gaz.

Gaz looked absolutely different in her new attire. It was black like Gaz always liked but had hints of purple here and there. It was a black sleeveless short skirt gown. Gaz was wearing purple elbow length gloves and matched them with a different set of boots that had heels. On the shoulders were strands of cloth that ran down the back to the hip. The front part of the skirt was short and revealed her long slender legs while the back part of the skirt trailed down to her ankles.

Gaz blushed the more Zim just stood there gawking at her. "My Tallest. Come with me. I have some garments for you as well." Tenn went over to Zim and seeing that he was completely stunned, dragged him into the back.

Zim and Tenn emerged 10 minutes later and there stood Zim, adorned in crimson robes fit for any Tallest. Gaz stared at Zim in amazement. She never knew Zim could look this good. This time, Zim was the one blushing as Gaz looked at him. Tenn vanished into the back once again and came back out a few minutes later carrying with her a few bags filled with clothes.

"Here." Tenn handed both Zim and Gaz the bags she had brought out. "These are a few extra clothes. As for your current clothes, they are made from a self cleansing material so you don't really need to wash them. But wearing those all the time would just be boring so those clothes are for when you want to try on something else. Don't worry. I made sure those ones make you look like royalty, too." Tenn smiled. "Oh, it's on me. It was an honour to serve you, my Tallest and my Queen." Tenn bowed once more.

Zim and Gaz decided to have dinner outside and found a nice little restaurant. It was filled with couples of all races but they were without a doubt the strangest to walk in. After getting a table, they sat down and placed their bags aside. After a few seconds, the waiter came by bringing the menus. Zim and Gaz were both shocked by what they saw.

"Mr. Dwicky!" Gaz was stunned to see her old guidance counsellor. He didn't seem to have gotten any older than when she last saw of him. "Is that you Ms. Membrane?" he poured them glasses of some strange blue liquid.

"You were the guidance counsellor in Skool, correct?" Zim crossed his arms and pointed his finger. "Yeah, I was. And you're that Zim, right?" he handed each a menu.

"I suppose you're wondering how I got here, right?" he cleared his throat. "Well, you see, after the Plookeeshians brought me along into space, I really didn't wanna go back home. I asked spent some time on Plookeeshia and got a job there but eventually got bored. So, I travelled to Foodcourtia and learnt to cook." he brought out a tablet and a stylus. "So, after that, I met this guy and well, he hired me. He told me that he was opening a restaurant in Vort and so now here I am."

After his explanation, he proceeded to take their orders. Since Gaz didn't know what was good or even edible to her, she asked Zim to pick out something that resembles Earth food. Dwicky took notice of it and made a suggestion. "If you're looking for Earth food, we serve it." he smiled. "I am an Earthling and I recommended to my boss that we serve all kinds of food."

After that, Dwicky left to drop of the orders at the kitchen. Gaz and Zim were left at the table talking about each other.

"I never imagined that I'd be here with you, Zim." Gaz sipped some of the blue liquid. It tasted like Gatorade for some reason. "What do you mean, Gaz?"

"I thought that when you got back we could just be together on Earth with Dib. But here we are caught in a war for your race or even for the entire universe." Zim was playing with his napkin.

"I never wanted this. I just wanted a peaceful life." he set the napkin aside. "And then you asked me to marry you. I was shocked… I mean, I really didn't see it coming."

Zim reached for Gaz's hand and held it lovingly. "I'm sorry Gaz… I never wanted anything like this to happen. I'm… scared." Gaz gripped his hand tightly. "Don't be." she kissed him.

"Like I said, we'll doom them together." they both smiled. There was a loud stomp coming their way. Then a voice that made Zim cringe in fear spoke out.

"Dwicky said there was someone here. Where is he?" Zim gazed up from his spot at the large being. "G-greetings. Sizz-lorr." Zim stuttered as he uttered the name.

"ZIM! Wait, I mean, my Tallest." Sizz-lorr made a courteous bow. "I am graced by your presence." he looked at Gaz. "This is your Queen, I suppose?" he bowed to Gaz.

A floating tray came up to Sizz-lorr and he served the food to them. "I assure you, I have the best deep-fried Moosh Minkie in the galaxy!" Zim recalled how he tried to escape from Foodcourtia by hiding in the said dish. "And for you, my Queen, a special dish prepared personally by me." he set down a plate of pizza. Gaz had actually ordered pizza.

"Well then, enjoy your food." he tapped Zim on the back and took his leave back to the kitchen.

Gaz stared at Zim's food in wonder. It looked disgusting but Zim was eating it with much gusto. Zim noticed her looks and offered her bite from his fork. Gaz was reluctant to eat it seeing as that it may do something strange to her but she was still curious. Taking the bite he offered, she chewed it up in her mouth. It wasn't actually that bad. The texture was a little new to her but the taste was similar to that of deep-fried ice-cream. "It's delicious." she said. The two finished their dinner and Zim paid although Sizz-lorr was insisting that it was on the house. But after waging a battle that actually lasted for an hour and Zim trailing off to a topic on Vort Dogs, Siz-lorr gave in so he would shut up and accepted the payment.

When they returned to the hotel, they found Dib sitting in another hover chair. Dib was delighting in zooming across the room.

"Oh, hey. You're back." Dib noticed Gaz's new wear along with Zim's. "You guys bought new clothes." he scanned them once more. "They look nice." he winked at them.

Zim and Gaz decided to keep the events of the day to themselves and just listened to Dib as he updated them on what was going on.

"We already started to think of what to place on the Impendia." he brought a hologram projector that lit up with the blueprints of the Impendia. "We're installing a few dozen laser turrets over here." he pointed at specific parts in the projection. "And the main cannon should go here." he pointed to the front of the ship. "As for the shields, we're trying to come up with a stronger one that requires less energy but still provides decent protection."

His explanations and plans continued into the night and Gaz fell asleep. Zim listened intently to Dib talk, taking in every detail that came up. He even made some suggestions of his own. He hoped that after the Impendia was equipped that if would finally be able to stand a chance against their strange foes. This was their last chance, it was either win or lose. If this worked, they could just re-outfit all their ships but if it failed, they had no other options.

In the morning, Zim was awoken by a beeping sound. Floating above him he found a small monitor with a flashing button. He pressed it and saw Red.

"Good morning. I trust you slept well." and like always, Purple was there floating around with a butt load of snacks cradled in his arms. "Come to the port when you're ready." the screen went dark.

Zim looked around and saw that Gaz and Dib were still asleep. There was no use in going alone. He lay back down beside his bride and closed his eyes, hoping that he would be able to fall back into slumber.

* * *

That's chapter 9 for ya, folks. Yeah, it's been fillers for a while but that's cause the Impendia is still being redone. I have the whole plot in my head and am actually quite pleased with myself. I mean, after this, I'll have done 10 chapters! I dunno how many more chapters the whole thing will span up to but I might say over 20 and if I'm truly the bastard I think I am who likes cliff-hangers, I might reach 30!

Hoorah! Rejoice, I love to write and am finally inspired!

Oh, go listen to L'Arc~en~Ciel. To those who already do, agree with me in saying that Hyde is a pretty GOD!

Anyway, cheerio and look forward to chapter ten!

Raruku out~


	10. Chapter 10: The Enemy

"You're in my spot."

-Dr. Sheldon Cooper, PhD. from the Big Bang Theory-

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Invader Zim. And who knew that scientists could be so fun? And no, I do not own the Big Bang Theory.

* * *

Chapter X: The Enemy

Zim woke-up to the sound of Dib floating around on his chair again. Gaz was already awake and was organizing their newly bought clothes into the closet. Zim yawned and got off the bed. He remembered that once they were already up that they should head on over to the port to meet up with the Taller. He walked over to Dib who was hovering near the balcony of their room, looking down at the bustling scenery below.

"Dib. The Taller contacted me just a while ago. We are to go to the port once we're all ready. Do you have any business which you wish to fulfil?"

"Not really. I already ate along with Gaz. You were still asleep so we didn't want to wake you." Dib got off from the chair and slumped onto the railings. "You hungry?"

"No. I am fine. So, are you ready to leave?" Zim turned to go back inside. "Yeah. Ask Gaz if she wants to come." Dib spun around as well and walked back in with his chair.

Zim walked over to behind Gaz an gave a hug from behind, his hands wrapped around her waist and reaching around to her belly.

"Good morning." he greeted her. "Good morning, too." she continued to arrange the clothes. "We're going to the port. Are you coming with us?" she shook her head. "No. I think I'll stay."

"Well, we better be going." Dib appeared, trying to ignore their affectionate display. "Okay. Let us be off!" Zim let go off Gaz and they walked out the door.

Zim and Dib took the transport and flew back to the port where Red was waiting for them.

"You're here. Excellent." Red turned around. "Let's get going." he led them to another transport that was waiting for them.

The transport travelled for a few good minutes before reaching its destination. It arrived at a large structure and from the outside one could see the Impendia docked into one of the many hangar bays that were cluttered about the large structure. Walking inside it, they found Purple at the entrance with a ledger. He was tapping it with a stylus.

"What's going on, Pur?" Red called out his partner. "We got word that the remnants of our Armada are on their way." he began tapping again.

"How many do we have?" Zim asked. "A good number. Not too much but not too little. That and there's the Vortian fleet." Purple handed the ledger to Red.

"And we're trying to get in touch with the Meekrob." Red scanned the ledger. "We need all the help we can get." Red and Purple floated along the corridor. "Follow us."

They all travelled down the corridor, Zim and Dib conversing as they went along.

"Hey Zim. I've been wondering why your weapons can't get through the enemy shields. You got any theories yourself?" Zim crossed his arms as he tried to think.

"I really have no idea. Irken laser weaponry is exceptionally powerful. And since most of our weapons were developed by the Vortians, they are without a doubt one of the finest pieces of equipment in the universe." Zim put his arms down to his sides. "The Massive was our most powerful ship, outfitted and created to conquer any planet. And yet its shields were nothing but paper to the enemy's blast." Zim's eyes slanted. "Whatever they possess is frightening and we need a way to overcome it." they turned a corner.

"Now that you tell me all that, I have an idea… but it's risky." Zim nodded, listening intently to what Dib had to say. "We need to capture an enemy ship."

Zim froze and stopped walking. "Capture! Are you insane! We can't even dent their shields." he complained. "I told you it was risky. But if we manage to get our hands on one, we can get a clue as to what kind of technology their packing. And by the looks of it, they do have more advanced stuff compared to us." Dib defended his idea. "We'll need a large force, though."

Zim saw the insanity in the whole plan but at the same time saw Dib's ingeniousness within it. Dib was very correct. The enemy technology was far more advanced and as for them, they had no clue as to what they were up against. Capturing an enemy vessel would prove very useful and could turn the tide of the war but they didn't have that many ships to spare. Not only that, if anything ever happened, they could be risking their forces to just get one enemy ship.

They finally arrived at a pair of metal doors that automatically opened when the Taller approached it. Inside the room was weapons research laboratory. From here and there, there were Vortians, Plookeshians and Irkens running about with chemicals, ores, documents and all sorts of doodads. There were even a few Meekrob that floated around the room. Zim was not fazed by this scenery as since he had become the Tallest, he was already exposed to such things. Din on the other hand was absolutely astounded, his jaw hanging below him. Dib had never witnessed such a feat, seeing all this technology made him giddy all over. He was like a kid who was thrown into a play pen with all sorts of new fangled toys to fiddle with.

They walked further and passed all the machinery to a laboratory that was where the supervisors for the whole place stayed. Inside was Lard Nar along with Dok. They were both looking at blueprints for the Impendia and what seemed to look like a few other ships.

"You're here. Well, we can start now." Lard Nar walked spun in his chair to face a board behind him. Dok pressed a button and a projection displayed on the board.

"Now, as you can see, preparations are well underway." Lard Nar turned to face them. "The Impendia, as Dok says, is nearly outfitted and should be combat ready quite soon." Lard Nar reached for his communicator and touched it lightly. "Send them in."

The door opened and in walked a pair of Plookeshians and Meekrob. "These are the representatives from the other races." Lard Nar gestured to them. "They are willing to assist us."

"We have come here today to accept an alliance with the Irken empire." one of the Meekrob said out. "Yeah. So do we." one of the Plookeeshians said quite happily.

Zim stood from his chair and walked over to them and shook their hands. "I thank you for joining us. I am sure it will benefit all of you as well." Zim nodded to them.

"Actually… they have a huge reason why they want to join, Zim." Red told him. "They were attacked." Zim turned to face him. "Huh!" Purple filled in for Red. "After Irk fell, they were attacked."

"Yes. We got word that Irk was attacked." the other Meekrob said. "We thought this as a faulty transmission. Of course, you have a race that can defend itself."

The other Plookeeshian spoke this time. "As for us, we just got attacked out of nowhere." he threw his robotic arms into the air. "BAM! We evacuated quickly enough to everyone safely off the planet." Lard Nar spoke out. "That's when they came to us. It happened only a day or so before you got here, Tallest of Irk." Red approached a computer port near the wall. "And they brought this with them." Red was holding a disc, displaying it to all of them. Zim pointed at it. "What is inside that disc?" Red's eyes turned serious. "A recorded message from the enemy."

Red placed the disk in and the computer quickly loaded the data. After a few seconds, the recording began to play.

"What are you! Who are you! Identify yourselves!" an unknown voice said. There was a screen displayed in the video. On it was a large metallic being. It had no eyes, no features on its face at all. It looked like a lifeless doll, an automaton.

"WE HAVE NO NAME. WE DO NOT TRIFLE OURSELVES WITH SUCH TRIVIAL MATTERS. WE ARE AS WE ARE." the voice came from the metallic being on the screen.

"What is the meaning of this! How dare you attack us! We will respond with such force that you wish you never even moved!"

"STAND DOWN. YOU WILL BE INVADED. ANY FORM OF RESISTANCE WILL BE MET WITH AN EQUAL SHOW OF FORCE."

"We won't stand down! Who do you think you are! You come all the way here, attack us and expect us to just sit by and let you take our planet! Arrogant scum!" the voice was absolutely furious.

"WE SAY AGAIN. STAND DOWN." the cold, unfeeling voice said once again.

"Like you, they tried their best to defend themselves but to no avail." Lard Nar paused the video. "Now, listen to the end part." he let the video play on.

"WE HAVE NO QUALMS ABOUT DESTROYING YOU COMPLETELY. STAND DOWN AND ACCEPT UNIVERSAL DOMINATION OR BE PUT TO EXTINCTION."

The video ended at that statement. Both Zim and Dib couldn't believe what they had just heard. They had finally learned what their foes had wanted all along.

Universal domination.

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Whoopdeedoo! FINALLY! Chapter 10! I can't believe I got this far! Anyway, this is where the whole story begins to take an action-y twist to it, although there will be greater romance! Hehehe! Look forward to the next one some more. As usual R&R!

Raruku out~


	11. Chapter 11: Capture

"Help me, dude! I'm being Smokered!" "I wish I could… I'm lagging."

-Me and my best friend playing Left 4 Dead 2-

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Invader Zim. As for Left 4 Dead 2, it belongs to Valve. Cool game, huh?

Chapter XI: Capture

Four days have passed. The past days were filled with meetings about strategies on how to ambush the enemy and hopefully capture at least one ship. Zim had accepted Dib's idea and wanted to put it into action as soon as possible. The only problem within it was that it involved a major risk, that being them losing an entire force just to meet their goal. But since it was an ambush, they wouldn't be attempting to go after a whole fleet but rather a single ship. Perhaps a scouting vessel or a supply ship that the enemy used would suffice. The risk here was that if they were spotted, the to-be-captured ship could send out a distress signal and it wouldn't take long before they have the enemy breathing down their necks. But this was important. It could bring them the victory they so much wanted to achieve. Engineers were all swamped with work on the Impendia, adding the final adjustments to its systems and updating the newly installed weaponry. Aside from that, they were busy outfitting the Armada remnants that had just arrived on Vort. They too were being re-outfitted to become at least combat worthy of the foe.

As for today, they were again meeting to re-discuss the plans on how to capture an enemy ship. Lard Nar took the in the meeting.

"Alright. From what we have gathered, the enemy ship has a type of force field that cannot be penetrated by our current weaponry." He carried a pointer with him. "That is why we have devised this plan."

A projection appeared behind him, one of an enemy ship. "As you know, shields only defend the ship from attacks but not from entry." "That's where we come in." Red stood and took Lard Nar's place.

"The remnants of the Armada along with the Impendia will act as decoys." the Impendia appeared on the projection. "We will lay out an attack that will get the enemy's attention." Red then pointed to a smaller ship on the projection. "While distracted, we send in a small transport filled with soldiers. They capture the ship and there we go!" Dok stood next. "And once we have their ship, we can begin to research it and come up with a new means to fight back and hopefully, destroy them."

"The leaders of the task force to be sent to capture the ship will be composed of…" Red stood up again as names appeared on a screen beside the projection. "Zim and Tak."

"There is no better soldier than I in the whole Irken army." Zim had his usual arrogant tone in his voice. "As for a pilot, Tak is bested by none." Zim looked at Tak.

Gaz was beside Zim. When she heard the names, she felt a slight longing to go along with them. She pounded the table and called their attention.

"I want to come along." Said Gaz. Zim objected. "No, Gaz. I can't risk your life in this operation." Gaz growled at him. "Why? Because I'm a woman? Or because I'm your queen?" Gaz sounded like she was talking about sexism.

"It's not that, Gaz. You aren't trained for such things." Gaz raised a brow. "Really now? Do you remember when we were still just dating and you pissed me off?" Zim nodded profusely as a memory came to him.

"I nearly destroyed half the city with your Irken weapons." she reached out for Zim's face and held it in between both her hands, squeezing him. "I am not incompetent, Zim." she let go of his face.

"Fine." Zim finally agreed after Gaz shot him a death stare. "But if it gets too dangerous, you're going back." Zim crossed his arms. "Oh honey, the only dangerous things will be you and me and a few laser rifles." Gaz laughed.

The door to the room opened and in walked Dib. "The Meekrob forces have arrived. The Plookeeshians are going to arrive soon, too." Purple stood from his seat and walked over to Dib. "Excellent. Let's go to the port." Purple called over to Red who floated over to him. "Let's go, Dib." Purple motioned for Dib to follow. "You go ahead. I'll catch up in a minute or so." Dib walked over to Zim and Gaz.

"Hey. How'd the meeting go?" he asked both of them. "Well, I'm leading the sortie team." said Zim. "Tak is coming along." he pointed over to Tak who was busy with a communicator.

"I'm going, too." said Gaz. Dib immediately retorted. "WHAT!" he gripped both Gaz's arms. "No! You can't! It's too dangerous for you!" he looked over to Zim. "Zim. You tell her." he hoped for some help.

"I can't. She made me agree." Dib let go of her and frowned. "But sis… if anything ever happens to you…" he placed his hand on his other arm, rubbing it gently. "Dib." Gaz held onto her brother's free hand.

"I'll be fine. I have Zim with me, as with Tak. And besides, you know I can take care of myself." she reassured her brother before giving him a kiss on the forehead. "Come on. Stop worrying so much, okay?" she smiled at Dib. Dib felt a slight feeling of assurance since after all, Zim would be with her as well as Tak. "Okay. I trust you, sis." Dib turned to leave. "Take care of her, Zim." Dib left through the doors.

"I'll be taking my leave as well." Tak left her seat and headed for the door. "I need to round up the soldiers for the mission. My Tallest, my Queen, I leave you now." making a curt bow, she left.

"Gaz." Zim's voice was nearly inaudible to Gaz. "What is it?" she was concerned. "Are you sure you want to come along?" he began to fiddle with his fingers. "You… you could die."

"Zim, honey, you know I can handle myself with these situations." she comforted him. "I don't want to lose you. If you…die… I don't know what I'd do." Gaz caressed Zim's face.

"No matter what you say, I'm still going. And you know better than anybody that I'm a selfish and greedy bitch." Zim turned to face her. "Selfish?" he asked. "Yes, selfish." she kissed him on the lips.

"Greedy?" he asked again. "Yes, greedy." she kissed him again. "A selfish and greedy bitch?" he asked once more. "Yeah. And you're all mine." she pulled him in again for a deeper, passionate kiss.

The days passed on and their forces had already been rounded up and equipped. The only thing left was to execute their plan: to capture an enemy ship.

Nothing much happened over the next few days since there was no sighting of any enemy vessel within the area. They hoped there would be at least one, just one measly enemy. If this kept up, then it would only be a matter of time before they would have no choice but to attack head-on. They knew it was a useless effort to even try to attack after witnessing the capabilities of their foes but they still had to try. Everyone was anxious for some action, that at least their prayers would be answered.

And luckily, they were. As the Impendia patrolled a certain sector, it sighted a small enemy detachment. From the looks of it, it was a transport ship guarded by light vessels. They were truly in luck. Seeing their quarry, the Armada formed up and began their assault. Soon enough, their enemy took notice of their presence and began to open fire. Since the Impendia was now battle worthy and had the best shields available, it was more than capable of taking such small arms fire from the enemy. Now caught in combat, the Armada ships swarmed the enemy, creating a small diversion.

"That's it! We have their attention. Launch the sortie team." said Red as he watched the ongoing battle.

Down below them in the hangar bay, soldiers piled up into a single transport along with Zim, Gaz and Tak. After they had been cleared to leave the ship, Tak took the controls and piloted the ship towards an enemy vessel.

"Alright men." Zim began to re-brief the soldiers. "We need to hit them fast. When we get on board, we need to immediately get to their control room." Gaz stood up next to Zim.

"We're not sure about the layout of their ship but we have to do what we can. Understood?" Gaz's voice was clear and commanding.

"Yes my Tallest, yes my Queen!" the soldiers shouted out and saluted in unison. "Hold on. I'm trying to get near that enemy cruiser." Tak said from the front of the ship.

Tak began to take evasive manoeuvres and flew gracefully through the incoming volley of lasers and plasma. She took measures to also avoid being too noticed in their approach. Finally clearing a final wave of fire, Tak came up to the targeted cruiser and activated mechanical arms that stuck to the ship's exterior and began to cut open a section of the wall. Once it was cleared off, the soldiers went in first, to be followed by Zim, Gaz and Tak.

"Okay. This is it, boys." Zim looked around the spot they had entered into. "Let's take this ship!"

Zim drew out his weapons and so did Gaz. Tak brought out a dagger and took point in leading the group. The soldiers gathered up and formed a defensive ring around Zim and Gaz. The corridors of the ship were empty. It appeared as if the enemy had not yet noticed that they were already inside the ship.

"Shhh!" Tak pressed a finger against her lips. They heard footsteps coming down one of the corners. Silently, Tak moved to it and waited. A shadow was seen on the floor, approaching the corner where Tak was. Seeing her opportunity, Tak grabbed hold of the victim and assassinated it. The metallic being that Tak disposed of lay on the floor dead. It seemed strange to them because there was no blood. It was truly strange.

Making their way down some more corridors and with Tak taking out most of any incoming enemy, they finally ended up at the door to the control room. Positioning themselves, the soldiers broke through the door and began to shoot inside. Getting in the room, Zim aimed for any moving enemy and began to let loose with his gun. Gaz did the same and started laying out her own fire. To their advantage, the enemy was caught completely off guard and by surprise, leaving them incredibly vulnerable. Tak quickly studied the controls. It looked completely alien to her so she had no idea exactly how to get it running. Studying them some more then finally coming up with a conclusion, Tak pressed some buttons here and there and brought the ship under her control.

"Now, let's go help our boys." The guns on the captured ship began to fire at the enemy and with only a few shots, destroyed them.

After the enemy was cleared off, the captured ship pulled in with the Armada and began their retreat back to Vort.

"That was easier than expected." said Zim. "Yeah. Too easy. The arrogant scum didn't see us coming. They completely let their guard down." she added.

"That's because they knew we didn't stand a chance." Zim curled his hand into fist, raising it before his face. "But with this, we will win this war."

Jumping into hyper space, it would only be a matter of minutes before they would reach Vort. Things were looking up for them. The capture of the enemy ship was successful and soon enough, they would possess the knowledge that would allow them to destroy their foes.

This was a fast chapter, huh? I kinda wanted it to be a cliff hanger but then decided to just go on. But now that I really look at it, maybe it should have been a cliff hanger. Nah!

Chapter 12 will be up soon. Maybe next week and if I'm lucky, I can do another mega update! R&R people, I love them reviews! Im'ma get me some DONUTS!

Raruku out~


	12. Chapter 12: Learning

"*shoots opponents ass with rubber bullets with a gun* I won."

-Sergeant Sagara Sousuke from Full Metal Panic Fumoffu"

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Invader Zim as well as Full Metal Panic. Awesome anime and manga! Funny to boot~

* * *

CHAPTER XII: Learning

A day had passed since the successful sortie and things were looking up for Zim and everyone else. A team of engineers and scientists were already hard at work on the captured ship. To their surprise, it was actually hard to get through most of the inscriptions that kept the ships computer and database locked. The scientists and engineers said that it might take another day or so or them to fully break through but then again, there was no rush. The enemy wouldn't be aware of their little venture and if they did, they would have already been able to complete their research and if possible, move to another location before any enemy could attack. The Armada was prepped and ready for any evacuation order and the whole planet of Vort had also prepared for such a time. In fact, they were willing to turn the whole planet into one big bomb if the enemy ever attempted to invade, keeping their technological secrets from being known and used against them.

After another day or so, they held another meeting since the men at work had actually already cracked the code and extracted all they could. They all eagerly awaited the results. The door to the room split open and Dok walked in carrying a small memory disc. Feeding it to a computer near the wall, images appeared on a large screen in front of them.

"What we found on the enemy ship was astounding." Dok pressed a button on a remote and the images changed. "The enemy uses technology that we could only dream of achieving at this point with out current knowledge."

Zim raised a question. "What of their defences? Why are their shields so powerful?" Zim asked. "Actually, their shields are not powerful." Dok replied. "What do you mean?" Zim asked again.

"Their shields." Dok pressed the remote again. "Are actually created from neutron particles. A force field that specifically negates all our attacks." Dok explained.

"Wait, neutrons? Particles with no charge?" Dib suddenlyquestioned. "Yes. And it is this fact that our current weaponry can't do any damage." more images appeared.

"For starters, our laser weaponry is basically a positively charged beam of energy. The neutron shield negates the beam, ridding it of its charge and making it useless."

"So you're saying that all our attacks our useless?" Purple seemed worried about the news. "Hey Red, what do we do now?" he looked to Red with big round eyes. "I don't know, Pur."

"So you're saying that we need something that can get through their shields, another kind of weapon?" Dib voiced his question. Dok nodded. "Yes. But with our current technology, altering the intensity of our lasers is out of the question. Aside from that, the armour on their ships is so thick that shells can't break through." Dib rubbed his forehead. "We need… something."

"What about nuclear weapons?" said Zim. "Nuclear weapons?" Dok asked. "Yes. The strongest form of weaponry that humans have created." Dib did not accept. "No. Nukes are out of the question." he explained why. "The blast radius is too large and missiles are slow. They'd get blown before even reaching the target." Tak was silent until now. "How about we just capture more enemy ships?" said Tak.

"It was fairly easy to get one and if we're lucky, we can score ourselves another one." Red shook his head. "No. We lost a few ships during the last sortie. The gain doesn't outweigh the losses we'll take."

There was silence between all of them. As for Gaz, she had no idea about such things so she just sat and listened, occasionally whispering to Zim about certain things. They were all deep in though, Zim was still like a lifeless statue, Red and Purple were about to blow their tops, Tak was silent like before and Dib was rummaging through his head for an answer. If they didn't come up with one, they would inevitably face defeat and worse, extinction.

"I GOT IT!" Dib yelled in his seat. Everyone's eyes fell upon him in expectance. "Anti-matter!" said Dib. "Anti-matter can get through their shields!" he added. "Anti-matter? Certainly not unheard of." said Dok.

"But." Dok began his rebuttal. "Anti-matter is quite unstable. It can't be contained and can't come into contact with any form of matter or else it would go into annihilation."

"Yes, that's true." Dib nodded. "But there must be a way. Well, back on Earth." Dib began. "During some of my research, I found in one of my dad's old files that there was a substance somewhere in the universe, a kind of metal that could make the unstable nature of anti-matter be contained. By using that metal, we can contain the anti-protons!" he finished his explanation.

"If that is true, then we Vortians have no knowledge of such a metal." replied Dok. "Perhaps…" he added. "Maybe we should consult the Meekrob."

Aside from the powerful Irken empire and the technologically strong Vortians, the Meekrob were another one of the more dominant races of the universe, one of the super powers that could actually stand in a fight. The Meekrob were a wise race, their elders filled with knowledge of aeons past.

"If that's our current course of action, I'll go and contact planet Meekrob. I'll set up a meeting with their council of elders." Red left the room along with Purple trailing behind him.

"Up to here, we're still stuck until we gain more information. This concludes the meeting." Dok ended the meeting then scurried off after the Taller.

"So, Dib, when did you formulate this theory about anti-matter?" Zim asked Dib who sat across from him and Gaz.

"Just recently, during the meeting, actually." he replied. "And what led you to believe that it could be the answer?" Gaz asked him this time.

"Well, it's like this." Dib went on. "As you can see, everything exists but has an opposite to it. Light has dark, war has peace, love has hate, creation has destruction, so on and so forth."

"I see." said Zim. "Yes, Zim. And so does matter. During the Big-Bang Theory, a theory which was formulated to explain as to how the universe came to be, matter was created from nothing. With that being stated, somewhere in the universe lies the complete opposite of matter: anti-matter."

"A marvellous idea, Dib." Zim raised a fist. "Perhaps with this we will be able to win this war. I just hope that the Meekrob know something about this wondrous metal."

The sound of metal clanged against the floor. Heavy footsteps were made as a metal being walked down the hallways of the ship. Turning a corner, he soon arrived at a door which automatically slid open, letting him into the control room of the ship.

"Sir, we have just gained knowledge that we have lost a ship." the metal being said. After that, another being clad in black armour turned to him. "What are the details?"

"We were unable to make contact with the crew. We believe that the ship was captured. Based on the capacity of the beings here, we assumed that they were not capable of destroying it."

"I see." said the black one. "What will you have us do, sir?" the black one waved his hand. "Nothing. Those fools have nothing against us. Ultimately, we will rule this universe. There will be none who stand in their way and there is absolutely nothing anyone can do about it. The prophecy…" he cut his talk short.

"The prophecy, my sir?" asked the previous one. "Yes. It is prophesized by the great being himself. We will rule."

A day later, the Taller had confirmed with the Meekrob and accepted a meeting with them. But seeing as the situation was unfit, the council of elders could not travel from their planet. Aside from that, using a transmission was dangerous since the enemy could possibly listen in. The only choice was to leave Vort for Meekrob. The morning on that day was filled with nothing but during the afternoon, another meeting was scheduled, a meeting to decide who would go to Meekrob to meet with the elders.

"As we all know, Zim will have to go." Red took hold of the meeting. "Me and Purple will stay here. We still need to organize some stuff."

"Are my snacks here yet! Huh!" Purple butted in, outraged by the late arrival of his order. "Damn Pur! Stop complaining!" Red pushed him aside.

"So, going on, Dib will be going, too. He knows about what we need. And as for our Queen, I'm sure she'll go no matter what." Red looked at Gaz with fear.

"Tak, you stay here. We need to run some manoeuvres and you're our best pilot." Red looked around the room. "Where's Dok?"

"He's in the work bay designing another shield generator." Dib answered Red. "Okay. That should be all. You can go now. Oh, the ship for Meekrob leaves tonight."

Later that night, the preparations were already completed and the ones chosen had already boarded to the planet Meekrob. The trip was not a long one but lasted only an hour or so as the ship exited hyper space just outside Meekrob orbit, awaiting verification to land on the planet. The recent attacks on each race has caused mass hysteria among some of the civilians and severe security measures were implemented just to make sure nothing horrible would happen.

Docking at the intergalactic space port on Meekrob, the trio exited t he ship and were greeted by a group of armed Meekrob soldiers.

"Tallest of Irk, we welcome you to Meekrob." one of the soldiers said. "Yes. Thank you for welcoming us. Let us make haste to the council. I do not wish to waste precious time." said Zim.

They were then lead to a teleporter just a few meters away from their ship and were immediately transported to another location. Once they had arrived, Dib gawked at the architectural designs. It was a marvel to him, a completely outstanding show of engineering. The building was so beautiful on the inside yet Dib did not see many support pillars nor did he see any of the things that could stabilize a building. It was truly a completely astounding feat of how the Meekrob were advanced as a race.

Then being lead down a large hallway, they could see large tapestries adorned with radiant colours, each bearing a particular face of a certain Meekrob.

"This is the hall of elders." Zim stated. "These tapestries hung here show all the previous and wisest of the Meekrob. They're long gone from this world but their knowledge is stored in a semi-collective consciousness that is the great prophet that the Meekrob believe to be their deity." Zim finished.

They arrived at a crystalline door that shone pretty sparkles and twinkled with abundant luster. Slowly opening, it gave way to them.

"This must be the council room, right Zim?" asked Dib. Zim nodded. "Yes. I expect you to be on your best behaviour. The Meekrob are very… respectable." Gaz nodded in agreement with Zim and told Dib to shut his trap.

Upon entering, they were greeted by a large powerful voice that emanated throughout the hall they were now in.

"Tallest of Irk! We bid you welcome." a Meekrob elder appeared on a stand in front on them. "We have convened with ourselves and have agreed to grant you as much assistance as you require. What is it you wish to ask of us?" said the elder.

Another appeared to the left on another stand. "I can ascertain that they seek answers as to how to engage our new foes." this time, another elder on the right spoke and appeared before them.

"Isn't this quite an occasion? There are humans before us, as well." he applauded them.

"Yes. Thank you elders. Allow me to introduce myself." Zim took a bow and raised his head after. "I am Zim, Tallest of Irk."

Dib took a bow himself. "I am Dib Membrane of the planet Earth. I am a scientist and allow me to say that I am deeply interested with your culture and race."

Gaz made a curtsy and began to speak. "I am Gaz Membrane, younger sibling of Dib. I am Queen of Irk and mated with Zim."

The elder in front of them gave out a small laugh. "Quite amusing. So it seems the planet Irk has finally obtained a Queen once again."

"A fine young Queen, I am sure you will do very well." said the one to the right.

"Now. Enough with the small talk. Ask of us anything you wish, anything to aid you in your struggle." said the one to the left.

Dib took a step forward. "We came to ask about a certain metal that can contain anti-matter." Dib stated.

"Well now, that question… takes us back quite a few aeons ago." said the elder in front. "To begin…"

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Cliffhanger! No duh! Chapter 13 is in the works and it'll be the one to bring light to the current objective in my story. Heeeheehee. Couldn't let you have all the fun in one chapter, could I?

Anyway, R&R people and I hope you enjoyed this one.

Raruku out~


	13. Chapter 13: Love and Conflict

My hands hurt like hell after band practice! Damn it, I hit my finger while hitting the snare drum!

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Invader Zim. I wish I owned a drum set, though. Hehe

Chapter XIII: Love and Conflict

"Well now, that question… takes us back quite a few aeons ago." said the elder in front. "To begin…" he continued on.

"The metal you speak of originally did not exist within our universe. Truth be told, it came from a different dimension!" the elder exclaimed. "A strange happening occurred many years ago, a blinding beam of light which shot across the entirety of our universe rippled out, causing a great change within everything."

The elder took a seat on the podium he was on, relaxing himself for the story he was telling. "I assume that you have heard about the Great Creation?" he asked them.

Zim nodded his head. "Yes. The theory that states that everything was created from nothing. On Earth, it is called the Big Bang Theory."

"Yes. Think of it this way, that another creation occurred within our universe. Can you imagine it?" the elder asked with an amazed tone. "A universe within a universe?" replied Dib with a question.

"Yes, yes. A universe within a universe, a foreign object within our reality." he went on. "But like we assumed, such a body could not exist within this space and was incredibly unstable. Soon enough, it collapsed in on itself and with its own demise, leaving behind a massive black hole with a gravitational pull that could draw in a whole galaxy!"

The elder took a pause and cleared his throat. "And so it did, it drew in galaxies from afar and sucked them into the dark rift. But just before it could absorb more, it suddenly vanished in a flash, leaving behind a mesh of stars, planets and galaxies, a hodgepodge of things."

"I think I have heard of a similar phenomenon. We have sent many survey ships but none of them return with useful information and at times, none return at all."

"Indeed. That area has become quite a mystery… and very dangerous. But without a doubt, if a universe was created in there, there would be traces of anti-matter. But since it has not resulted in annihilation, that must mean that there is something there which can contain it." the elder on the left fell out of his brief sleep. "Ah… where were we?" he asked with drowsy eyes.

"We were discussing about anti-matter." the one on the right replied. "Ah, then you need a wormhole." the one on the left answered back.

"A wormhole?" Zim asked. "Yes." replied the elder in front. "Due to the danger, we have sealed of the area with a space-time barrier. Now, it is only accessible via a certain wormhole, which we keep under heavy guard as well."

The elder in front of them looked down at Zim and saw the expression forming in the Irken's face. "I can understand. You wish to go there, do you not?" Zim nodded. "Yes. We need to."

"Very well, I will send word to the detachment guarding it." the elder vanished into the darkness behind him. "It was nice to have guests. Come again!" the one on the right disappeared.

"Bah, humbug! You young whippersnappers!" the one on the left fell vanished as well.

After the meeting had ended, a few guards stepped in and led them out of the room. One of the guards approached them and handed Zim a data disk.

"This contains the data you require. Please use it wisely." said the guard.

Zim, Gaz and Dib returned to their ship and soon departed from the planet Meekrob. A short while later, the planet Vort was once again well in view from the ship's control room. Once the ship had docked, they were welcomed by Red who had a smile on his face and Purple with an ever so eager expression.

"Welcome back." said Red, making a small bow. "How was it? Learn anything?" Purple asked as he procured himself a purple lollipop from his pocket.

Zim along with Dib and Gaz retold what they had heard on Meekrob on their walk. A transport awaited them at the far end of the dock, one that would take them to the meeting room that they had used so often. Once there, everybody else needed for a meeting was already ready and seated. Assuming their seats, it began.

"To start off, we have attained valuable information from the Meekrob. It pertains to our anti-matter problem." said Dib. "We got this data disk." Dib presented the object and walked over to a console.

"These are the coordinates of a wormhole." he pointed to the screen. "Yes." said Zim. "We may find the material we need here." he added.

"The wormhole leads to a sealed of sector in space." surprisingly, Gaz was the one who spoke. "Judging by the weight of the mission, I say we take a small group of soldiers with us." she said.

Zim was surprised by Gaz's sudden involvement. "When did you become so active in these things?" he asked her. "What? If I'm gonna be your wife and queen of your race I should at least know a bit on stuff, right?" she replied. "Hmm. True." Zim nodded as he replied.

"Anyway, to carry on, if we're ready, we can leave by tomorrow." said Gaz. "Agreed." said Red. "Admiral Tak, you will be assigned on this mission." Tak saluted in her seat.

"Alright people, departure time will be 0600 tomorrow. Dismissed." Red ended the meeting.

The following morning, everything was already set-up and ready, their ship fully loaded and everyone on board. Immediately boarding upon their arrival, Zim, Gaz and Dib proceeded to the ship's control room where Tak awaited them.

"My Tallest. We are departing now." Tak stated and the ship vibrated a bit then flew off.

Now in space, it immediately entered hyper space and exited at a Meekrob blockade in their flight path. Once their ship was verified ,they were granted access and entered the wormhole that was just a few solar clicks away.

"Okay. We've entered the wormhole. It should take some time to come out the other end so we can do as we like until then." said Tak.

Taking the opportunity, Zim and Gaz retreated to their private quarters.

"I really do hope that we find what we need in there." said Zim. "I hope so, too." Gaz told him. "This could be our only chance in this war." Zim's eye lids dropped down. "Yes. The future is reliant on our findings."

Zim stood up from his seat and walked over to a window and stared into the bleak mass of space outside. This usually calmed him and gave him time to think about things. Gaz was sitting on the bed and making herself comfy when she noticed her husband acting depressed. There were many things that Gaz could say to Zim but there was one thing that crossed her mind, one thing that she did not yet tell him. She didn't know neither was she sure if this was the right time to bring up her topic but who knew if they would get another chance. Mustering some courage, she approached Zim from behind.

"Zim?" she moved closer and pulled him into a hug from behind. "Yes, my dear?" he answered back. Zim then felt Gaz's head rest on his shoulder.

"I… I want to ask you something. Is it alright?" she asked. "Of course. What is it?" he placed a hand on her head while still looking out into space.

"I want a baby…"

Zim's constant stroking of her head ceased for a bit. "What?" he asked in disbelief. "A baby… I want one." she said again. Zim turned to her and placed both hands on her shoulders.

"A smeet? You wish to have a smeet with me?" he asked. "Yes, Zim. I want to." she planted a kiss on his lips.

Zim let go of her and walked back to his chair and slumped down into it. He buried his face into his hands. "No, Gaz. I can't. I… I don't want one."

Gaz was shocked at his reaction. "Why? What's wrong?" she seemed worried.

"It's just that… it's this time." he said. "I… I don't want our offspring to experience this war." he took a deep breath. "It's not impossible that one of us will die in this war and I do not want to put our child through that pain, that misery of losing their parent even before they were born.

"It will be our child, Gaz, and I do not want you to go through hardship to raise it alone, no, I don't want you to be alone." he added.

"I… I promise, though." he said with a slight smile. "Promise what?" she asked gently. "That when this is all over, we'll have a family together. And…" he was going to add something.

"And what?" she asked again. "And we'll live on Earth. I want our child to experience everything wonderful. The good, the bad and watch them grow up."

"You taught me many things, Gaz, things that made me who I am today. I know you'll make a great mother." he smiled at her, his eyes gleaming with joy.

Gaz ran over to him and kissed him again. She sat herself on his lap and pulled his head into her chest, embracing Zim tightly with all the love she felt for him.

"I love you." she said with all her emotions in it. "I love you, too." he answered with all his as well.

Meanwhile, in the control room…

Dib paced around the room in anticipation. They were still not near the end of the wormhole and he got impatient quickly and with nothing to do, was not bored as hell. Walking around and around, Tak just watched him do his business and didn't much mind him. The operators at the consoles on the other hand, were slightly freaked at his repetitive actions. Dib would even sometimes growl in frustration at the long wait. Well, he could go talk to Zim and Gaz but they requested that they be alone during this free period. Dib respected their wishes, nay, he had to lest he have Gaz unleash a fiery misery on his life.

After a few more minutes of staring, Tak finally got fed up with Dib. "Would you stop that damn pacing and just sit down!" she tried to order him.

"It's so looooong! When are we gonna get there, huh!" he snapped back at her.

"You impatient earthling. Like I said, just sit still and we'll get there when we get there." she crossed her arms.

"Grr…" Dib growled at her. "Fine." acceding to her demand, Dib took his seat beside her. "You're really grumpy, you know that." she did not reply. "Maybe this is why I haven't seen you with any guys ever since we saw each other again." she quickly looked at him, her eyes in slits.

"What did you say, Dib?" her voice cracked like a whip at him. "I said that probably the reason why no guys wanna go out with you is because you're such a control freak and grumpy all the time!" he restated his previous line.

"I'll have you know that Irkens do not choose their mates. We are paired, our genes taken and combined to form a smeet. We are not like you humans with you primitive emotions." she coldy retorted.

"Primitive? You haven't even experienced it for yourself! How could you even know what it feels like let alone know what it can do!" he stood up and yelled.

"What's so great about emotions anyway! Are you trying to use my Tallest and our Queen as an example?" she raised an invisible brow.

"Well, uh ,yeah!" Dib raised a finger. "Zim's a whole lot better than he ever was before. And the reason is that because he's felt what we humans feel. He fights for Gaz with all his life and would give it up just to protect her!"

"Emotions are useless and make you weak. There is no room for weakness in the Irken Empire. We are a strong and proud race. I still can't even imagine why the hell Zim's our leader! He nearly annihilated our race in the past! He should be exiled!"

Dib's eyes grew wide. "Shut up! You don't know what he went through." Tak crossed her arms and rolled her eyes. "And you do?" she asked. "Yeah! I do!" Dib strongly answered back.

"You have no idea what he went through on Earth. You should be thankful to have him as your leader." Dib walked for the door.

"Oh." he stopped as the door opened up. "Don't ever talk about my brother-in-law like that." he added before he walked out of the room.

Tak face palmed and heard one of the operators call out to her.

"Sir. We've finally arrived." he said.

Tak was out of it for a bit and shook her head to let go of what Dib was talking about. "Stupid human."

They arrived at a giant mass of melded metal and gas that glowed eerily as they approached. The space around the ship was distorted and if one would observe, would see small little rifts forming and then vanishing. It was truly a dangerous place as getting sucked into one of those rifts could send you to anywhere or just make you vanish for all eternity. The Meekrob were right to seal this area off. Now, the only question was whether this place had what they needed or not.

That's this chapter. As for the fluff up there, well, I kinda felt that it got a bit too serious and all the romance got sucked out. There will be a bit more developments in their little "baby" issue and maybe I'll make Dib fall for Tak. Hehehe. Classis ZAGR and DATR. Might be fun, eh?

Anyway, that's that and please R&R.

Raruku out~


	14. Chapter 14: Found Hope

I play as a Humanoid Vampire Fighter in Dungeons and Dragons… but I keep rolling 1's and keep missing!

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Invader Zim.

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CHAPTER XIV: Found Hope

Dib returned to his room, steaming at the argument with Tak. In his mind he thought of Tak as nothing more than an ignorant wench who not only insulted his best friend but belittled all of humanity. News of the issue quickly spread aboard the ship and within minutes, most of the crew and the soldiers on board already knew about it. It was quite amazing at how gossip and news flutter around so quickly.

Tak sat in the control room with her arms crossed. She was trying to unwind in her seat, trying to let go of the thoughts that Dib instilled in her mind. She did not care about emotions and she certainly still hated Zim. It seems that even though he was now supreme leader of all Irkens, her grudge ran so deep that she was only forced to obey him but would probably rather shove him out the airlock if it was possible. The operators at the panels shot her constant glances but she just growled back at them and made them return to their minor duties.

"What's so great about emotions, anyway?" she said to herself. "Weakness compels strength. Only the strongest survive."

The sound of doors opening brought Tak out of her thoughts. She spun around in her seat to find Zim and Gaz. Gaz looked around the room in search of her brother.

"Where's Dib, Tak?" she asked. "My Queen, he has returned to his quarters." she replied back with a salute.

"Well, we're nearing our destination. I need to speak with Dib." Zim walked back out the door and left Gaz with Tak.

Gaz assumed her seat beside Tak and crossed her legs. She let out a small sigh and turned to face Tak.

"I heard about the fight." she said. "News spreads quickly." Tak rolled her eyes. "Please spare me the crap. I don't get you humans at all."

"I don't know so well, Tak." Gaz looked at the operators. "But you and your race are all so narrow-minded. You believe that being superior is all that matters."

"What do you know about us? Don't try and sound so mighty." Tak disliked Gaz's words. "What do I know? Well, for starters, I'm married to one."

"And I know that many of your kind still haven't conformed to Zim's leadership and ideals." "Damn right!" Tak snapped back. "We Irkens were better off when the old Tallest were still in power." Tak went on. "They got things done and we were feared! But look at us now." Tak pointed to the operators. "Forced to serve a defective leader who only got his status because he was taller than everyone else!"

"Hey!" Gaz snapped. "Don't take about my husband like that! You have no idea about him. After all, your leaders banished him!" Gaz stood from her seat. "But look now, he's ruling all of you! And he's doing a damn good job of it!" Gaz beamed down at the short Irken female.

Tak looked up with a defeated look. She knew she could not best this woman with her words and train of thought. "Then… tell me…" Tak squeaked. "About human… emotions…" Tak was shamed that she even wanted to learn about it. This was what kept her thinking, what made her say such words. It was something that she deemed illogical, something that she herself has never experienced and even could not figure out.

"Fine." Gaz sat back down. "Ask me about anything. I mostly know since I am human." Gaz made a small pun.

Tak bit her lip at Gaz's offer. She finally had a chance to know a bit about emotions but she was hesitant. No matter if the offer stood on the table and was up for grabs, she still wanted to look cool and composed, tough and with no weaknesses. She knew that if she touched on the topic that it would be sign that she was affected. But she wanted it; she wanted the knowledge… the feelings that always eluded her.

"I… want to know about..." Tak searched her mind. "About…" she went on. "About what makes Zim so much better than all of us." she finally decided.

"Well, to be honest, I don't really know." said Gaz. "Maybe it's because he's a defect." Gaz added.

"He's better because he's a defect? What kind of logic is that?" Tak wondered. "Maybe this is where emotions play a key role." a smile formed on Gaz's face.

"If Zim never came to Earth, I wouldn't be here today." she closed her eyes. "My life would continue on Earth with my stupid brother." she chuckled.

"Zim is my first and only love." Gaz opened her eyes and blushed. "And he loves me that he would risk everything for me." Gaz stood and made for the door. "He's fighting this war for what he believes in, for what he loves and holds dear to him." the doors opened. "Not just me, but for all his people as well." she walked out.

Tak sank back into her chair. She took everything that Gaz said into consideration and began to contemplate about what had been said. Maybe Gaz was right, maybe emotions didn't make you a weakling but rather brought about more strength than being devoid of it could.

"Maybe… one day…" Tak whispered to herself. "I'll know what it feels like." she said it even though she knew that she wasn't a defect, her PAK keeping her from the feelings. Only a few Irkens had the flaw within their PAKs but surely, they would have been already disposed of. But now, Tak longed to know what it felt like to have such things… to be able to cling to something and feel for it.

Meanwhile, with Zim and Dib…

"Damn it! I can't believe her!" Dib paced his room back and forth, tugging at his own hair. Zim watched as he sat on Dib's bunk in awe at how Dib was still upset.

"Stop it, Dib. You can't blame her." Zim stood and blocked Dib's path. "I'm a defective and can feel all emotions. Plus, it was my fault that she got trapped on Devastis. So she pretty much has a right to hate me."

"I guess you're right…" Dib saw Zim's point. "But I still don't like the way she talked about you." Zim chuckled a bit. "Thanks for your concern, my friend. But as a leader, I have to deal with such issues. I will be liked by some and hated as well. It's all natural."

Dib walked over to his bunk and took a seat. "Oh, why are you here again?" he asked. Dib seemed to have forgotten why Zim came to his room. "We've arrived." said Zim.

"We have? Great!" Dib stood from his bunk. "We should get going!" Dib got all excited. Zim grabbed him by the wrist and stopped him from leaving.

"Wait… I want to talk about something." Dib turned to face serious Zim. "It's about… something." Dib scratched his head in wonder at what Zim could possibly want. The thought occurred to him that if they had arrived, the intercom could just announce it but instead, Zim came here himself. There had to be a reason.

"Okay, buddy. What is it?" Dib asked. "Promise me you won't try to kill me." Zim awkwardly played with his fingers. "Well, ok. I promise?" Dib grew more curious.

"Okay… well, me and Gaz have already… done it." Zim fiddled with his hands and tried not to meet Dib's gaze. "You know… it."

Dib was silent for a few seconds and then broke out into a loud laugh. "Is this what you wanted to tell me? That you and my sister are getting it on?" Dib kneeled down, gripping his stomach while his laugher continued. "Zim, it's natural. You're married. Well, not officially at least."

"There's another thing… she wants a baby." said Zim. "Wow! That's great. Wait—" Dib's eyes grew wide. "You're not telling me she's pregnant, right!" Dib got up and yanked Zim by the collar.

"We're in a war! You can't have a baby during a war!" Dib began to shake Zim frantically. "No! She's not pregnant! NOW STOP SHAKING ME!" Zim forced Dib's hands off.

"Oh, that's good to hear. But why did you want to tell me?" Dib asked. "Because you're her brother and family. And you're my best friend. You're part of my life, of me and Gaz's life." Zim sat back down on Dib's bunk. "And you will be part of our child's life." Dib sat down beside Zim and patted him on the back. "Thanks, Zim."

"We have to end this war, Dib. For the sake of all we hold dear." Dib nodded in agreement with Zim and stood up. "Let's go. We've got some metal to get!"

The two ran quickly to the hangar bay where the platoon of soldiers had already filed into ranks. Zim found Gaz standing in front and giving commands. Tak was with her overseeing the soldiers as well. Zim walked over to them while Dib followed closely behind, trying to keep some space between him and Tak. It gave him an awkward feeling to be with someone he just had an argument with.

"I see we are all ready for this operation." Zim looked at the soldiers as he walked in front of them. "First off, we will divide into two separate groups." he stated and then stopped moving.

"One group will be with me and… Tak." he said the name. "My Tallest!" Tak called out to Zim. "I wish to be paired with Dib." Dib felt a cold chill go down his spine with that Tak said.

"Is that so? Well then, go with Dib." Zim said to Tak. "Okay, so one force will be with me and Gaz and the others with Dib and Tak."

Tak stepped forward and gazed at the soldiers with a menacing expression. "This is a tight operation. I want you all in tip-top shape. We don't want any casualties here." she turned to face a board already filled with illustrations and information. "We have no idea as to what could be in there so be cautious and watch your backs at all times."

"SIR!" the soldiers said in unison. "The operation starts now! Get ready!" the soldiers kicked the heels of their boots together and saluted.

The airlock behind them began to unlock and make cranking noises. An alarm went off to signal that it was beginning to open up.

"Alright, turn on your suits." all the soldiers then pushed a button and so did Zim, Gaz, Dib and Tak. It released a helmet that conformed to the shape of their heads and the became transparent.

"LET'S GO!"

Zim and Gaz went first and led their soldiers out of the airlock. Afterwards, Dib and Tak left as well, going in a different direction. "Meet back here later." said Zim to Dib.

The inside of the strange place was truly mind-boggling. The walls shimmered with an eerie glow and there were weird sounds that bounced off the walls. Their footsteps made noises that seemed to get warped in the space they were in and every now and then there would be small flashes of light that seemed like miniature supernovas.

"This really is strange. It's giving me a very bad feeling." Zim said to Gaz. "Yeah. It's like… a weird fun house." Gaz said to him.

The soldiers with them kept Zim and Gaz in the center of their group and they kept a tight formation to make sure that nothing would harm their leaders.

Meanwhile, Dib and Tak were in the same situation, stuck in the middle of their group.

"…" Dib avoided trying to say anything to Tak. "Dib." Tak called his name. "…" Dib ignored her. "Dib, please, I want to say something." Tak called him again. "I don't feel right. What you said still doesn't sit well with me." said Dib, finally acknowledging Tak's presence.

"I… I'm sorry." Tak said. "What? You're sorry?" Dib made a face. "Well… yes. It was wrong of me to look down on your race… and to insult the Tallest." she said.

"Well, apology accepted." Dib smiled. "You aren't so bad, after all." he said.

Just then, a strong flash of light just suddenly emanated from out of nowhere. It blinded them and startled most of them. Dib stood there and just saw nothing but white. He then felt a strange warmth near his leg and a strong grip. Once the blinding effect had faded, Dib shook his head out of the small trance he was in and looked down as to what was clinging on to him.

"Tak, what are you doing?" Dib looked down to find Tak hugging his leg tightly. "Um, this, I uh-!" Tak let go immediately. "Wait a sec—you got scared, didn't you?" Dib was giggling.

"N-no, I was not scared. Me? Scared? Please!" Tak tried to sound tough. "Wait!" Dib stopped the group. "Look at that!" Dib pointed to a wall in front of them. The wall was filled with all sorts of minerals and ores. They had an attractive sparkle. Jutting out from the walls, they seemed to be easily removable.

"Start mining." Dib ordered to the soldiers. They then brought out laser pickaxes and began to go to work on the walls.

"I hope this is it…" said Dib. "Come in, Zim. Come in." Dib talked into his wrist communicator. "We found some sort of minerals. We'll bring back all we can. How you doing on your end?"

"We found some as well. The soldiers are already halfway through the carrying capacity. Let's meet back at the entrance."

Zim turned off his communicator and turned to Gaz. "Dib's found some on his side." Gaz looked away from the soldiers and faced Zim. "That's good to hear. We should be at max load in about a few minutes." she said.

Minutes later after much mining, they all met back at the entrance of the strange place.

"I think this is all we can carry for now. Plus, I think going back would be a bit too dangerous for now." said Zim. "Let's return with what we have."

The ship departed at full speed and entered the wormhole once more. Carrying the unknown metal that could very well change the tide of war, they made haste in their return to Vort.

* * *

Done, done and done! I'm sorry if this chapter took long to upload. Here's my reason:

We have this J-pop/J-rock constest, J stands for Japanese, and well, we decided to join. So, instead of uploading, I've been practicing with my band. The theme is anime songs so we covered some songs from the anime K-ON!. And as you might know now, I play the drums. Please forgive me for the wait but I couldn't turn my back on my band!

Anyway, hope you keep reading. R&R and stay cool, people!

Raruku out~


	15. Chapter 15: Break Time

For the first time ever, I felt what band practice was really like and what my role as the drummer is… it's really tiring!

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Invader Zim. If you still sue me even if I already said I didn't own it, then you're paying me instead!

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CHAPTER XV: Break Time

Upon their return to Vort, the group was welcomed back by the Taller, Red and Purple. And as usual, Purple had his head deep in a bag of donuts while Red attended to the more important matters that his slightly idiotic and care-free counterpart didn't seem to care about.

"How was space? Was it really cool and fun?" Purple asked. He didn't really think about what he was saying, most of the time. Zim usually just chuckled at Purple's little stupid moments. It always was for a good laugh.

"Why, yes. The strange place was all so sparkly and shiny. Lot's of neat things, too." Zim told Purple. "Aww! Now I wanna go there. Hey Red, can we, huh?" Purple urged his partner, making Red think that Purple wanted to go to an amusement park.

"No, Purple, we can't. That place is dangerous." Purple's lips trembled and tears welled up in his eyes. No longer holding back, Purple made a run for it and sobbed while moving away from them.

"He gets like this when you feed him too many donuts." Red explained. "He should be fine in about… an hour, or so."

Soldiers poured out of their ship and began unloading all the things they had gathered. There were high hopes for this little skirmish, hopes that one of these minerals, these ores, would be the key to finally giving them an edge, a fighting chance against their strange foe. Zim and Gaz watched the men continuously enter and exit the ship bringing with them all that they could carry. Dib and Tak on the other hand, were still on the ship. They requested to be left alone for a while to talk about things, things that Zim did not much care about and neither did Gaz.

On the ship…

"Hey, um, Tak?" Dib called out to Irken female who was busy counting boxes. "Yes, human. What is it you require?" she asked ash she counted. "You know, back there, you, um…" Dib awkwardly motioned.

"You know, were scared?" Tak froze for a few seconds. Regaining her composure, she turned to face Dib. "No, I did not! We Irkens know no fear!" she bragged about herself and her race.

"But that was clearly you shrieking like a little girl." Dib's eyes went half-closed. "Of course not! That was merely a defensive tactic, yes! I was defending you from harm!" she tried her best to keep him from finding out.

"You embraced my leg tightly. You clearly were afraid." Tak turned around trying to hide her blushing cheeks. _'Wait… what is this feeling? I've never felt this before.'_ the thought popped up in Tak's mind. She actually blushed, something that she was never meant to do, something that their programming negated. Why was this happening? A flaw in the program? Or could it be something else?

"Admiral Tak!" a voice came from down the hallway which brought Tak out of her mental state. Red appeared from beyond the door as he peered into the room.

"Ah, there you are." Red fully entered the room. "Dib, Tak, all the cargo have been taken in for research. Let's go." he motioned with his hand. "I just got an immediate meeting call from Dok."

Red hurriedly exited just as he finished. Dib shot a long look at Tak and as for her, returning his gaze as she felt herself being pierced, slowly being unravelled. She did not want to let Dib know about her current feelings but somehow she felt that Dib already knew.

"Tak. You still haven't answered me properly." Dib crossed his arms. "Leave it, Dib. We have more pressing matters to attend to." Tak took advantage of the moment and rushed out. Dib let out a small sigh and shrugged his shoulders. "Can't hide from somebody who actually feels emotions." Dib followed out of the room.

In the meeting room, everyone had already gathered, seated and ready for what Dok was about to say. This time, Dok floated about on a small hover platform which allowed him to be better in view. Taking out a pointer, he floated over to the front of the room where the display showed the findings. Of course, this didn't make sense to anyone except him, not even Dib's brilliant mind understood all the crap!

"Good news, everyone!" Dok exclaimed. "We have what we need." he added.

"That is without a doubt good, but please, tell us more." Zim asked of Dok as his eyes gave off his seriousness. "Basically, the metal you have gathered has already been tested. We have confirmed it… we have stabilized anti-matter using the metal. Surprisingly, we can build our weapons and even increase shield output with the energy produced."

"This is marvellous! We can finally put up a fight!" Red smiled. "With these weapons, we can tear open their shields like paper." said Dok.

Zim's hand found Gaz's and they grasped each other tightly. Zim looked at her and he saw a scowl for on her features. "Honey, let's end this war." said Gaz. Zim smiled sinisterly. "Yes dear."

Red curled his hand into a fist as he stood before all of them, a huge dastardly smile on his face. "In a few weeks time, the Armada will be fully equipped and ready to go to war. Aside from that, the Vortians here are already preparing their own fleet. Even the Meekrob have begun to make their move."

Letting go of Gaz's hand, Zim stood up. "How many ships do we have at our disposal?" he inquired. "Less than a thousand." replied Red. "But with the Meekrob and Vortians with us, we'll have more than enough to tackle those arrogant bastards." he added.

"I've heard rumours that the enemy has begun to conquer planets. Is this true?" Gaz asked. "Unfortunately, yes, my Queen." Red said. "The surrounding planets around Irk have already fallen. But on the bright side, the enemy is still unaware of our current state."

"So what are the chances of them coming to Vort?" she asked. "Not to worry. Any enemy vessel detected will be blasted with the anti-matter cannons we have already developed." he answered with confidence. "Really? How quick did you build it?" she was amazed at how fast they constructed it.

"To tell you the truth, I have no idea. Dok here is the genius behind it!" Red pointed to the floating Vortian. "Now, now. There is no need for you to know. It is good enough that we have it."

"Say!" an idea came into Red's head. "You haven't fully introduced yourself to the people of Irk, right?" he squinted one eye. "Come to think of it, yes. Gaz has not introduced herself ass Queen of Irk yet." Zim said. "Hmm… I think we should plan an introduction. You know, it might liven the people up, get their spirits high." said Red.

"Yes. It will take some time to get the ships ready and there's nothing much to do. So, when can we have it?" Zim asked Red.

"Did somebody say introductions!" Purple zoomed into the room with a large smile on his face. "I'll get the smoke machines!" Purple shook Red around as he grasped Red's collar.

"Um, uh, you can leave now. I'll handle Mr. Happy over here." he signalled to Zim and Gaz to leave before Purple did the same to them.

As they left the room, Gaz clung onto Zim's arm. "Introductions to the whole race? I feel kinda embarrassed about it…" she blushed. "Don't be. You should be proud to be Queen of Irk. I know I'm proud to have you as my wife." Zim smiled.

"Aww… Zimmy." Gaz clung tighter onto Zim's arm. "Hey… you wanna go back to the hotel and…" Gaz winked one eye and smiled in a very sexy way. Zim blushed and curled his lips at the action.

"H-hey! Don't say it in public!" Zim got all defensive all of a sudden. "But… if you want to…" Zim said in a hushed tone. "I'm all yours Zim. Now and forever."

Zim and Gaz bolted through the door whilst locked in a furious exchange of kisses. Once in the room, the door automatically shut. Gaz began to madly tear at Zim's wear, unbuttoning his robes from top to bottom. The kissing only ceased when Gaz turned so Zim could undo her attire. Once both of them were down to their underwear, the kissing went on once again. Lifting Gaz off the floor, Zim carried her over to the bed which from it's perfectly arranged state became like a tattered battlefield. Zim was on top of her, kissing her and caressing her smooth skin that only he could see, only he would be the one to touch. As for Gaz, her arms were locked in a tight embrace with Zim's body, pulling it closer to her as she pressed her lips onto his.

"I love you so much!" said Gaz as she gasped for air. "I know you do. I love you as much as well." replied Zim. "How about that baby…?" asked Gaz. Zim smiled back. "I'll think about it."

Once again the two let themselves go and began to undress. From there on, the two went at it like crazed animals.

Meanwhile… somewhere else…

"What is… love?" asked Tak to Dib. "Is this what you wanted to know about?" Dib wondered. "Not really. In truth, emotions. I want to learn about emotions and why our empire has been so keen on keeping them banned."

Dib scratched at his head in the hopes of formulating a sound explanation. "Well, I really don't know." he honestly replied. "Based on science, it's all just about chemicals that run through your brain." he fixed his glasses that began to fall of his nose bridge.

"But deep down inside, it's more than that Tak." he said. "And based on your behaviour back on the ship, I can tell you felt something, something that you weren't supposed to feel."

"And what would that be?" Tak asked Dib. She knew he had it nailed down already. "You felt fear." he replied. "And since I'm friends with Zim, I know that Irkens can't feel that certain emotion."

"You're race thrives on conquest and you pride yourselves with being the strongest race in the universe. Irkens can't feel fear. But you… you felt it back in that strange place."

"…" Tak remained silent and lowered her head. "Admit it Tak! You're beginning to feel!" Dib shouted at her. Luckily, they were in a secluded place.

"You know what this means, right?" said Tak. "Not really." Dib took of his glasses. "It means I'm…" she stopped short. "A what?" he cleaned his glasses with a napkin. "Defective."

"Only defective Irkens can feel emotions since their programming is already faulty to begin with…" she gripped onto her other arm. "But me… I can't be! I can't be a defective!" she shouted out.

"WHY! I don't want to be one, I refuse to be one! I'll end it all! I won't be ridiculed for being a defective!" she screamed more, letting out all her fear and what the empire would do to her.

Seeing Tak act so out of control was a shock to Dib. She was screaming and clawing at a nearby wall. Dib hurried over and slapped her straight in the face, ceasing her berserk state. He placed both hands on her arms and held her down. Although Dib was stronger than her, she was still a tough one to keep down, like a small puppy trying to worm its way out of a person's grip.

"Stop it, Tak!" Dib shouted in her face. "Killing yourself won't accomplish anything." Dib kept a firm hold on her. "But I'll be the laughed at, insulted!" she began to kick around. "I don't want that!"

Dib brought the small Irken into a hug. "I know you don't want that… no one does." Dib began to feel his clothes getting wet from where Tak's head was. "Waaahhhh!"

Tak could no longer hold it in and began to cry. For the first time ever, Tak completely let her defences down and showed what she had held in all her life. She was a defective… one that did not want to be destroyed. Hiding it for so many years, it all built up and during this one moment that she became vulnerable, she let it out.

"I'll help you, Tak." Tak snivelled. "I won't let them do anything to you." Tak's crying ceased when Dib said those words. "You will…?" she asked. "You're my friend. Of course I will."

"Ok. Stop your whining and get that cut-throat side back. Can't have you leading an armada like that, now can we?" he said, joking around. Tak smiled and gave Dib a thumbs up.

It appears that Tak has accepted her negative side. With Dib to show her the way, maybe she could come to understand why Zim is who he is and why the empire needs something that it has not felt for so long: emotions. But alas, the battle for the universe draws ever closer and soon, one will stand and one will fall. In the end, either we cease to exist or we continue to live out our lives in the grand scheme of things.

* * *

This chapter is done and I really appreciate all the reviews people have been sending in. Thanks a bunch, I meant it! R&R, as you know.

Raruku out~


	16. Chapter 16: Another Irken, Another Human

I love me some donuts~ I love mine donuts~ -ramblings of my inner mind-

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Invader Zim.

Chapter XVI: Another Irken, Another Human

The days passed into weeks into what seemed like an eternity but in the end, it all came through. Even though it took so long, above the skies of Vort was the Irken Armada in all its glory. The ships floated still in the skies in perfect formation. All eyes gazed upward to many large screens that floated in front of the ships. There was nothing currently being displayed but all Irkens gazed at them in anticipation.

Zim held Gaz's hand as they stood in the control room of the Impendia. Around them were floating cameras that in about a few minutes, would send a live feed to the screens floating about outside. Today was the day for Gaz to be officially introduced to the Irken people, that and the day when they would begin their battle to retake the lost planets. Gaz's grip on Zim's hand tightened and a small feeling of fear dwelt within her. She was nervous about the whole affair and she didn't want to be rejected by the Irkend people. She had gotten like this for a few nights in a row just before bed and every time she did, Zim would hold her hand and tell her that it would go fine. In front of them, Red was with his usual stylus and busy poking about on his ledger. Purple was beside him with his arms behind his back. Purple had a smile about him that meant he had just gorged himself with another bag full of donuts.

"My Tallest." said Purple. "It's time."

The screens outside flicked to life and the first thing upon it was the one and only steel visor wearing Irken. The crowds on all ships began to go into screams and applause, waving their antennae at the same time.

"Brave Irkens gathered here today, please bid welcome to your almighty leader, the almighty Tallest!" the crowds screams grew even stronger, even the inhabitants down below could hear all the commotion up in the air and they too, joined in. Today was truly a marvellous day, the day of liberation and unity for all.

Zim's face came onto the monitors, stern as always. Looking into the camera, his expression soon turned into a wide smile.

"My people!" he raised his hand. "Today is the day when we take back what we have lost! Today, we begin our stand, we will defy those who oppress us!" the crowd applauded.

"Today is a day of unity for all races of our universe. Together, we will crush the invaders!" he curled his hand into a fist as an expression.

"But above all, today is the day when I, your leader, bring you great news." the view on the screens widened and Gaz came into the picture. "I introduce to you, your Queen!"

The crowd remained silent, not a sound was heard. Gaz looked hesitant to speak. She was completely rejected; she felt that the Irken people did not approve of her being their Queen. She did not want this and felt like breaking any moment… but now was not the time for that, it was the time to show some backbone! Bringing herself back to her former state when all would cringe at her very presence, her eyes came alive with a fire that caught the attention of all viewers.

"Mighty Irken people, I am Gaz Membrane, your new Queen and mate of Tallest Zim." her voice was cold and commanding. "Do not stay silent, you must scream!" Gaz began to free herself up and moved rather than staying stiff.

"Scream with your voices at the highest, strike fear into the enemy!" she stomped her foot onto the floor. "Let them know that we will not sit idly by and watch as our very world crumbles into ashes, no! We will stand and fight to the very last breath! I am your Queen, heed my orders! Destroy all the enemies, leave none standing!"

The once silent crowd then broke out into another euphoric state. The applause was ever so louder than before and the screams, intensified to such a great extent. The people had accepted her as their Queen and they would obey her like they would Zim. She was now another commanding figure in their race, one who would surely lead them to victory much like their almighty Tallest.

Zim looked to Gaz with a hint of approval in his eyes, she recognized what that smile on Zim's face meant. "Did I do great?" she asked. "Never better, my little angel of death." said ZIm.

After the events had finished, all the ships began to emit their sounds, their engines poised and ready to go.

"Now." said Zim. "Let's go and wage war with these impudent fools." he added.

The idle ships began to move, flying up into the atmosphere of Vort and soon, escaping the planet's gravity.

The dark recesses of space were filled with ships, Irken, Vortian and Meekrob alike. The Armada they had formed was even bigger than that of the original Irken army. This was their stand, their defiance towards those who ordered them to stand down, those who took their homes and burnt them to the ground. Flying slowly to their destination, creeping ever closer to when the conflict would start. Surely, this war would not end quickly, it would be filled with much laser fire and explosions. But in the end, only one will remain standing.

Gir was happily rolling about on the floor of Zim's house, spreading cheezy madness across the living room. Everything was a mess, every little thing covered in goo and ooze. It had been quite some months since Zim left Earth and since then, the house was unattended. And like the malfunctioning little S.I.R unit that he was, Gir did as he always did: make a mess of things. Luckily, Zim's computer was programmed to watch over the base during his absence. The costs were paid with the bills generated by the computer, Gir's pizza raids on Bloatey's usually had to be taken care of with cold hard cash. Electricity was not an issue since Zim just sucked it out of the neighboring buildings. As for water, Zim had just recently gained immunity to it but being the cheap-skate he was at times, he dug deep into the ground and found his own water supply.

"Oh, yeah, oh yeah!" Gir was now up and about, doing pelvic thrusts. Stopping after a few more minutes of the repeated action, he sat back down. "I wonder what Master is doing right now?" sticking his tongue out, he ran about and dove down into the trash can.

Dib and Tak sat across from each other in total silence. Dib rocked back and forth slightly in his hover chair, he quite enjoyed the sensation of floating. Tak merely stared at the human in front him. She was curious. Very curious. She felt a slight prick in her chest as she looked at Dib, a feeling that was both unpleasant and enjoyable.

"So, are we gonna talk or what?" said Dib, breaking the silence. "I did say I'd help you with your problems." he said in a bored manner. He leaned his head on his fist and blew at a strand of his hair that was dangling lazily in his face.

"W-well…" Tak said nervously. "What is…" Dib raised a brow. "Love…?" Tak finally let the word slip from her mouth. " Dib sighed and shrugged his shoulders. "Kind of hard to explain." he said.

"And let me guess, you want to know what makes Zim so much better than all of you, right?" Dib was dead-on. Tak felt naked as Dib uncovered her secret intentions. "Yes." said Tak. There was no use in hiding it, one way or another, Dib would find out anyway.

"Well, to be frank, I have no idea why Zim is so much better than any of your people." Dib clapped his hands together for effect. "But since you asked about love, I'll tell you what I can."

"Love is an emotion." Dib went into professor mode, he felt like he was teaching a young child about stuff. "According to science, it's just the release of specific chemicals. Those chemicals react in your brain and give you the feeling which is called **love**." Dib's preaching did not end there. "But, some people refuse to believe that it's just like that." he went on more with his ramblings.

"Some people believe that there really is an unexplainable force out there, that love is something which isn't just in your head, but something that's in your very soul." he chuckled. "How ironic… a man of science like me, he who tries to disprove God, believing that souls do exist." he said and laughed.

"And you, soulless machines bred for war." Dib pointed at Tak. "Cannot feel this particular emotion." Dib took off his glasses and began cleaning them.

"But you… you're beginning to feel. You do… have a soul." Dib placed his eyewear back on. "And maybe, just maybe, that's what makes Zim so great."

"Because he has a **soul**?" Tak asked. All this new information was beginning to get harder for her to process. All these things that Dib just mentioned, there was none of this, no trace of it ever being discussed in her Irken life. True, Irken's were made and raised for conquest but here was Dib, trying to figure them out.

"Yes… Zim has a soul. And a heart. No, I don't mean literally cause I know you guys have your Squeedily Spooch-thingy." Dib blew at the strand of hair that fell to his face again. "Zim was different back then, Tak. You knew how he was."

Memories of the past came flooding back to both of them. How Zim first arrived on Earth and about his schemes which always ended in failure. Back then, he was always so persistent with destroying the Earth. And then, Tak came to take over his mission. And thanks to Zim's stupidity, Gir, and some help from Dib and Gaz, they managed to stop Tak's plan. But it did not stop there, Zim went on to do more, even ruining Christmas for the whole world.

"But that all changed…" said Dib. "When he and Gaz finally started going out."

Zim had changed when he began to feel for Gaz. He had already stopped his plans to rule the Earth when he was told the truth about his mission and that really did leave him in a slump for quite some time but when he fell in love with Gaz, everything truly did change. Zim became more human than Irken, somewhat more human than even those who were really human. He grew to love the human race, the Earth and came to an understanding about a great deal of things. But what came out most important out of all that happened was the tremendous change Gaz went through as well. This, to Dib, was what he was most thankful for. Thanks to Zim, Gaz had opened up her world and finally stepped out of her dark realm. She became a bit more bright and cheery. Yes, she still was different and liked to scare the crap out of people but she was no longer a loner. She made friends, although not many, and talked to Dib and her dad more. Dib remembered the time when Professor Membrane gave her a brain scan just for acting to happy.

Tears began to stream down Dib's cheeks as he went back to those days in the past. "Dib! You're crying." Tak said, concerned with why he was. "I envy them." Dib said, his voice quivering.

"I envy them, I really do." his sobs grew louder. "Dib…" Tak got off her spot and hopped onto Dib's lap. This looked quite embarrassing to Tak but it was the only spot from which she could be at the same height as the human. Reluctantly, she placed her arms around him and laid her head on his chest.

"I can hear your heart beating." she said. Dib sniffled and chuckled. "What are you doing on my lap?" he asked as he smiled. He thought it looked quite cute. "I understand that humans do this particular action to comfort those who they care for." said Tak, not removing herself from her spot. She was actually enjoying the close contact they had. She had a strange feeling in her gut, too.

Wiping his tears with the cuff of his coat, Dib wrapped his arms around the small Irken sitting on his lap. "Dib! What are you doing!" Tak wondered and tried to break free from the hold. But deep down inside, she liked the feeling and made only minimal effort to get loose, she wanted to stay this way for much longer but of course, would not let her pride go.

"Thanks, Tak." said Dib. He pulled out of the hug and looked down at her and planted a small kiss on her forehead. Tak could feel her cheeks go warm as she smiled uncontrollably. She turned a darker shade of green.

"Can I hold your hand?" Dib asked kindly. Tak nodded slightly, more embarrassed than ever before. Dib took her hand in his and held it securely within his. "I just realized…" said Dib. "You're really pretty." he added.

"Um, uh…" she found no words to say. "You don't have to say anything." Dib placed a finger on her lips. "I'll stay with you."

"…" Tak was silent for a few seconds. "Please take care of me." she said.

The power core of the Impendia began to spin wildly as it generated more energy. The liquid around it began to bubble as the cooling system came on to keep the core from going unstable. Feeding the ship power, the Impendia became enveloped in a bright light and disappeared from the current area of space it was in. The Armada that followed it did so as well, the same for all the other ships that were part of it.

**WE HAVE ENTERED LIGHT SPEED. **The voice came from the speaker system and echoed throughout the halls of the massive battleship. **DESTINATION: IRKEN TERRITORY**

Oh yeah! This chapter is done. First things first, I apologize for not updating last week. I really didn't have time to type and use my laptop since me and my band had to perform again. We managed to pull off a two day practice session and still came out fine. Who knows how many more performances we'll be doing but I assure you guys, I will finish this story, keep updating and even come up with more ideas. I have a prequel to this story in the works! - SPOILER MUCH? Hehehe, that's just a teaser~

Anyway, thanks for putting up with me and my ideas. Expect some more romance in the next chapter… either that or full scale war! R&R and stay safe, guys!

Raruku out~


	17. Chapter 17: Unexpected Happening?

I'm getting addicted to the songs from K-ON! They're really good and I want to drum to them so very much~

DISCLAIMER: For the 16th time, I do not own Invader Zim.

Chapter XVII: Unexpected Happening?

One by one, the ships exited hyper space and resumed normal cruising speed. And to their expectations, they were met with a blockade of enemy ships. During the war meeting, it had already been predicted that Irken territory would without a doubt be guarded heavily. After all, the Irken territory was the largest. Slowly moving forward, the ships prepared to engage the enemy forces.

"All ships, open fire! Don't hold back!" said Purple into the intercom, transmitting the message to all ships.

Massive exchanges of laser fire began to ensue. Streaking across the black void, they flew at high speeds, either making their mark or missing completely. Fortunately, thanks to the new shields, the enemies weapons were rendered down to a minimal threat. The damage they were receiving was minimal, capable of being repaired by robot drones or personnel. And thanks to the new weapon systems, they were tearing through the enemy blockade like it was nothing more than a thin sheet of paper. Swiftly dispatching the enemy ships, it was only a matter of minutes before the entire fleet was destroyed, no survivors or stragglers remaining.

"This is marvellous!" said Dib as he stood in the control room, amazed at their war effort. "Those were just small fry." Zim said. "The big guns are probably at Irk." he said.

Zim stood from his seat and paced around the front of the room. He looked worried at the situation despite the fact that they had just achieved a slightly flawless victory. Gaz, worried for her beloved Irken, reached for his hand and stopped him from pacing.

"Zim. What's the matter?" she asked. "It's just that once we reach Irk, things will be different." said Zim. He reached for the arm rest on his seat and pressed a button. A detailed virtual model of the whole planet then popped up on the hologram projector. This called the attention of both Red and Purple and they approached the projection.

"What is it Zim?" asked Red. "Why are you showing us a projection of Irk?" Zim gazed at the hologram and pressed a few buttons on his arm rest again.

"Our planet is well protected." Zim pointed at a specific part of the projection. "If you recall, we have defences almost everywhere." he pointed at more locations. "If the enemies have done what I fear, then our very own defences will be our demise."

"So you're saying that they could have possibly tampered with our weapons systems?" asked Red. "Then that means we can't even get near Irk without getting blown to bits!" exclaimed Red.

"And judging by Irk's current orbital speed, we're well in range for our Doom Blaster." Purple examined the model closer.

Gaz raised a brow. "The _Doom Blaster_?" she said with a slight giggle. "What a stupid name for a weapon." Purple's face turned sour and he ran out of the control room. "Let me guess… he named the damn thing." said Gaz. Red nodded to her and soon left to chase after Purple before he got himself into any trouble.

"So, what do you suggest Zim?" asked Gaz. "The Doom Blaster isn't much of a problem. Its blast radius may be large but it's damage capability against these ships is currently minimal." Zim brought out a detailed schematic of the cannon. "This can easily be destroyed with a blast from our anti-matter cannon." Dib tilted his head to the side in question. "How do you shoot it accurately from so far away?" he asked.

"Simple. Once the Doom Blaster fires a shot, we simply trace the coordinates to the origin point. Then we input it into the ships computer, lock-on and then fire." Tak answered Dib. "The sad thing about it is that we actually HAVE to get hit." she said with worry.

"If the ships can take the damage, then why do you sound so worried, Tak?" Dib asked Tak who was scanning the screens. "If Taller Red was correct in what he said, then the Doom Blaster just might be re-outfitted with their technology, making it a far greater threat."

"But we didn't even take damage from the current fight. We're good to go!" said Dib enthusiastically. "No, Dib. The Doom Blaster uses a different principle." said Tak.

"The Doom Blaster is a weapon that uses an energy increasing device. Using that device, it increases the energy output until it reaches a certain level. Depending on the level, the damage capabilities increase. But if our foes have modified it to their advantage, the resulting blast could be that of a supernova. Quite devastating…" Zim explained. "If we're hit by a supernova class blast, we'd be wiped out instantly."

"As long as that weapon remains online, going in with the whole fleet is out of the question. Our only option is to send a ground troops." said Tak. "The main cruisers and battleships are slow but a fast moving transport ship can get in quickly. Once on the ground, we take out the cannon and then we can signal the fleet."

All of them stood there, thinking about the whole situation. Everyone already engaged in this battle was indispensible, all of them equally important. Soldiers were readily available but no one would be able to oversee the whole operation. They needed a skilled commander who could do the sortie without fail. Zim was the Tallest and losing him would already mean failure. As for Red and Purple, they were not combat oriented. Dib was out of the question and Gaz only ever had that one experience when they stole that enemy ship from a while back.

Minutes passed as things went on. Their ships slowly drew closer to the now dreaded planet of Irk. Their scanners began to pick up traces of enemy vessels, there was whole lot of them! Blips where almost on every part of the radar screen. Not only that, once they had reached their present location, a large volley of artillery fire from the planet surface flew into space to greet them. Luckily, the ships were already built to take the damage and could actually easily evade the incoming fire. But that still didn't solve the problem about the Doom Blaster.

"Damn it! We've got no one to send." Red pounded his fist down on the console. Purple was already screaming at the top of his lungs in the background. "We're gonna die! We're all DOOMED!" he bellowed out, running back and forth as he went on with his death wails.

"I'll go!" Zim stood. "We have no choice." he said. Gaz grabbed his hand and tugged on it. "No! You can't! If we lose you… it would already mean defeat." she said. Zim looked deep into her amber eyes and caressed her face. "My love, if we don't do anything, we'll all be done for." he said.

"Sir!" an Irken from the consoles called out. "We've got an unknown signal!"

A beam of light originating from the planet surface flew past the Impendia, nearly hitting it. "The Doom Blaster!" exclaimed Tak. "And judging by that shot just now, their coordinates are only just a few adjustments away from hitting us." she said. "Begin evasive manoeuvres! " ordered Tak.

"Sir!" the same Irken called out. "We've got another unknown signal!" All of them went into shock. "They're firing again! Impossible!" Red shouted out. "No, not from the planet. It's coming from behind us!"

From out of nowhere, a large spherical object flew at rapid speed toward the planet surface, specifically heading for the origin of the blast from the Doom Blaster.

"Give me a visual on the thing. I want to know what the hell it is!" Red ordered. The screen came alive with a picture of a seemingly familiar object. Zim recognized it instantly.

"That's planet Mars!" he said. "It's still flying about space?" he wondered. Red raised an invisible brow. "Zoom in. I wanna know who's piloting it." said Zim.

A picture of another familiar object appeared. The figure on screen could be seen doing back flips in zero gravity, along with all sorts of other strange actions. Zim never thought he'd be so happy to mention the name that popped into his head.

"GIR!" he shouted.

The little SIR unit was seated on the pilot seat of planet Mars. Apparently, he was just enjoying himself. Beside Gir was a small tea table and at the table was a pig in a space suit. Gir floated to the table and held up his cup of tea. "Hey there, Pig."

Planet Mars flew further towards Irk until inevitably crashing into the planet. In comparison, Irk was far larger than Mars so there was no major damage. Then again, it would probably have left a nice big crater on the surface, a nice sight to see when they get back on the ground.

"What the hell was that!" Purple seemed completely surprised by the whole damn thing. "Never mind that, begin attack!" Red interjected and gave the order.

Bent on taking back their planet and to end the conflict, the whole newly formed Armada charged into the belly of the enemy. Battleships engaged in an exchange of laser fire with the opposing side, a give and take of ordnance. The smaller ships that were more mobile streaked around their large carriers, defending them while the others flew off to take down the enemy carriers. The Impendia stood out like a sore thumb in the thick of it all, its size being the key feature to it. Aside from that, the really large Irken emblem on the front gave it away completely. But with its monstrous size this behemoth of a ship was not just to intimidate the enemy; it was without a doubt built to crush any foe! Now armed with numerous anti-matter cannons and top of the line defence shields, the Impendia greeted all would-be challengers to its devastating power. One by one, enemy ships flew towards the Impendia, seeking to take it down, but to no avail, they were obliterated, turned into space dust. The Impendia's cannons did not cease firing, its shields did not falter and slowly, it led the way to the planet Irk as it cut through the enemies.

"This is it! We've done it!" Red seemed quite pleased with the turn of events. "That malfunctioning little SIR unit really saved our skins." said Red as he smiled at Zim. Zim felt a strange feeling of thankfulness towards a Gir, a feeling that he had only quite a few times, those times being when Gir did NOT mess up what he was told to do and when Gir actually stayed put. No matter the damage caused by Mars hitting Irk, Zim knew that in the end, Gir would probably still be playing about, not at all damaged. It was quite uncanny how Gir always managed to elude being destroyed.

_**PROXIMITY WARNING. PROXIMITY WARNING. PROXIMITY WARNING.**_

The operators at the control panels became flustered with the appearance of the message on the screen. What was causing the warning to appear? Irk was without a doubt close but not enough to set off the sensors. In fact, since Irk was already well in view, the computer would not need to even alert the crew.

Zim turned to the panel and began to press some buttons. "What is going on?" he asked. Red floated over to his side and began to press around as well. "I don't know. The sensors are going nuts. This shouldn't be happening."

_**ENERGY ACCELERATION DETECTED. CALCULATING…**_

_**IMPACT IMMINENT.**_

The Impendia shook violently, sending Zim, Gaz and all the others into the air. Luckily, the ships emergency counter-measures activated and let negated all sense of gravity. Thanks to that, they all managed to avoid crashing into the walls and suffering some major pain.

After a few moments, the vibrations stopped and the ship began to stabilize. A strange sound then began to play from the speaker system of the ship. It was an ear piercing sound that made Gaz and Dib cover their ears. The feeling was so intense that it felt like your brain would explode if you kept on listening. Zim rushed to Gaz and held her tight. Tak did the same as she hurriedly wrapped her arms around Dib.

As Zim looked out to the front of the ship, he saw what might have been the cause of this, and what might be the enemy's trump card. In front of them, emerging from its cloaked state, a large enemy battle ship appeared. Far larger than the Impendia, it gave of a menacing feeling when Zim and the others gazed upon it. The colossal ship was just floating there, waiting to take them down. It was now or never… it was do or die. If they wanted to end this war, they would have to get through this one obstacle.

_**INCOMING TRANSMISSION.**_

"Impudent fools!" a voice said from the dark projection on the screen. "Do you honestly think that you will win this little war?" evil laughter was then heard. "You are nothing! You all are just the lowest rung on the ladder, not even fit to be taken seriously."

Zim scowled and narrowed his eyes. "Who are you to call us such lowly life-forms!" he did not let go of Gaz who was still curled up in a ball. "We will win! We will defeat you!"

More laughter was heard. "Very well. You have chosen to die rather than face defeat." the dark picture on the screen began to clear up and an image finally manifested. Dib struggled to keep his sanity and caught a glimpse of the person on the screen. His eyes grew wide open in disbelief at who he saw. With all the strength he had in his body, he screamed.

"!"

The figure on screen was the spitting image of Gaz and Dib's father, Professor Membrane. But this being, Dib knew, was not their father. He looked cold and machine-like, no longer human. The father Dib knew cared for them even if he wasn't home all the time, the father he knew was human! Tears began to stream down Dib's cheeks as he looked at the figure on screen and letting his hands fall away from his ears, he fainted and fell to the floor. Tak struggled to support Dib's weight and began to shake him awake. "Dib! Wake-up!"

"Irkens… you will be exterminated. No… not just you, all of those who live in this farce existence!" the cold, unfeeling voice echoed out through the room.

Another chapter done. Wow… it's getting more hyped up, eh? But hey, I had to add some spice to it~ Anyway, so as always, R&R. Stay kewl~ guys and thanks for all them nice and ~tasteh~ reviews! This is me, myself and I, sincerely thanking all the readers! Look forward to the next chapter, maybe in week, as always. Live long and prosper, guys.

Raruku out~


	18. Chapter 18: Live To Fight Another Day

A/N: I'm back and well, just read on to see what this chapter holds. I was kinda sad to write this...

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**CHAPTER XVIII : LIVE TO FIGHT ANOTHER DAY**

There, projected on the screen, was the spitting image of the late professor Membrane, father to both Dib and Gaz. Dib still couldn't believe what he was seeing: a cold machine of a person that closely resembled his father. He did not want to accept it, and along with the screeching sound that made his head hurt even more, pounded away at the metal floor of the command center, wanting to block out all sense of reality. He wanted to just close his eyes and then open them up again and see that everything was all right... but deep in the recesses of his mind, he knew all to well that this was no dream... it was inevitably real.

Zim's clenched his fist and they involuntarily shook out of his fury. He was furious not because of the sudden appearance of the enemy, not because they were only inches from victory yet were denied, no, his anger stemmed from seeing someone, especially this _impostor_ of a father, hurt his beloved Gaz. Zim never knew what it felt like to have parents since he was grown from nothing more than paired Irken genes, and in a glass tube, no less. Although, he knew all to well how Gaz would feel and it would tear her apart to see this robotic doppelganger be their enemy.

"How dare you call us Irkens weak. We are the strongest race in the whole damn universe!" Zim screamed at the top of his lungs, directing all his pent up rage to the person on the screen. "What gives you the right to come into our home world and take it as if it were nothing but your play things!"

"What gives us a right?" said Membrane. "We need not such a thing. We are absolute." he added. "We are the only semblance of hope for this farce existence of a universe." he went on. "We are the only hope of every life form of being saved!"

Dib, finally getting over a bit of his current state, rose to his feet with clenched fists at his side. "What are you saying! You're not making any sense! My father would never say such meaningless things."

Membrane turned his attention to Dib who seemed to now seemed to show a sense of defiance. "Ah, if it isn't one of my offspring." he said. "But nonetheless, you too shall be purified and made whole, one with the Creator."

"Creator?" mumbled Red to himself as he listened intently to everything. "What kind of crap is thus guy talking about?" still to himself.

"Well, I dunno about you Red." said Purple who apparently heard him. "But this is turning out to be some crazy mumbo jumbo."

"No matter." replied Red. "We need to get out of here before we're blown to bits." he tried to say things without moving his lips as much as possible. He had to make sure that he could do this without the enemy noticing his movements on screen. Slowly, a small bug-like device crawled out from one of the many gadget holes in his Pak and positioned itself near Red's mouth.

"Attention all personnel." he spoke into the thing. "Initiate evacuation procedures but do so silently. We're gonna get out of here without the enemy noticing. Begin all countermeasures."

"You speak nonsense, you robotic fiend." said Zim as he placed Gaz's arm around his shoulder. Zim actually heard the secret transmission Red made and began to take action. He looked to Tak, and she nodded her head in accordance, as well. "But you will not see the last of us today, oh no." declared Zim. "This will not be over until we destroy you."

_- ON THE ENEMY VESSEL - _

"There is nothing more that we need to say to you, Irken. And there is nothing more that you can say to us that will prevent your inevitable destruction at this very moment." said Membrane to the image of Zim on the screen. "Cut the transmission and begin charging the main cannon." he added. "Goodbye, Irken."

With that, the images on screen went black and Membrane returned to his seat in the command center. Meanwhile, his robotic drones continued to attend to the work at hand and ready the cannon for it's firing sequence.

"Excellency." a drone approached Membrane's seat from the side. "The cannon is ready for firing. You may give the signal anytime."

Membrane laughed, completely devoid of emotion in the tone of his laughter. "Don't just fire. Accelerate the core reactor to class 0.9, and then we can begin firing." he ordered. "I don't want a single spec, any particle left of them. They're impurity must be dealt with."

_ON THE IMPENDIA -_

"Sir!" one of the Irken soldiers called the attention of his leaders. "We've picked up an energy increase in the enemy vessels core reactor. They're charging up their cannon to-! 0.9." he said as he read the specifics on the screen.

"Good." Red smiled. "Just as expected." he added. "Everyone! Begin evacuation procedures. Get to the hangar bay."

Slowly, one by one, all of them exited into the hallways and made their way to the ship's hangar where they kept all the Irken fighters and a new modified Voot Runner that Zim had personally requested to be made and placed on the Impendia.

With Gaz's arm still around his shoulder, and a strange gait in her steps, Zim slowly escorted Gaz to the hangar, Tak and Dib right behind him. Dib held a different look in his eyes, a kind of expression in which he was determined to fight... be it against his father. Gaz on the other hand, was rendered nearly paralyzed by the strange noise and up till now, gave no responses to Zim. All she could do was walk weakly. "My love..." Zim said as he worriedly looked to his wife. "I will make them pay." he said. "As you once said... We'll doom them together." he added, quoting Gaz.

Finally reaching the hangar bay, all of the Irken troops on the ship went into their respective ships and slowly, the doors began to open and a small gap in the shields was made to allow their ships passage.

"Come on, Dib, Tak." said Zim as he entered his new and improved Voot Runner. "We're getting the hell outta here."

"Hold on." said Dib. "Why aren't Red and Purple coming with us?" he asked as he looked for the two other Irkens. "They'll be leading the other troops out of here. We can't all be in the same ship because if this fails and we all die, there'll be no leaders to mount another attack." said Zim.

Tak nodded in agreement with her Tallest. "Correct, Dib. No matter what happens, all the Irkens, no, everyone here in this universe right now needs a leader. Everyone sees Zim as that person, but if not him, the Taller are the only ones capable of waging war." she explained. "So no matter what, someone needs to live and fight these bastards."

Once they had all gotten into the ship and strapped themselves in, Zim started his Voot Runner up and quickly zoomed out of the bay, joining up with all the other Irken ships as they made their escape.

_ENEMY VESSEL -_

"Excellency." said another drone to Membrane. "They have began to evacuate the ship. We're picking up the signals of their smaller ships leaving the bigger one as we speak."

"I assume that the cannon is ready to fire?" asked Membrane. "Yes Excellency. The cannon is ready for firing." replied the drone.

"Very good. Fire now." he ordered.

"FIRING MAIN CANNON!" repeated one of the drones. "Core reactor charging up. Firing in 5... 4... 3... 2... 1..."

Suddenly, the mainframe of their vessel began to freeze and go haywire. Flustered and shocked at whatever was happening, the drones began to go into a sense of panic and run about the whole command center.

"What is the meaning of this!" Membrane was outraged. "What happened to the cannon! FIRE! I ORDER YOU TO FIRE!" he yelled, no longer seeming to be a robotic person.

"Something has invaded our system, Excellency." reported one of the drones who was diagnosing the system. "It's preventing access to all commands. Everything is stuck."

"Those impure little scum." Membrane's fist shook with anger. "I will make them pay for this."

_ZIM'S ESCAPING FLEET -_

"Alright, it's working." said Red into the intercom that was transmitting to all the escaping ships. "Prepare to go into hyperspace and return to Vort." he gave the orders. "This goes to all ships of the Armada. I repeat, commence withdrawal and enter hyperspace. We are returning to Vort." Red repeated once again and in a matter of seconds, all of them were gone.

_ENEMY VESSEL -_

"We're picking up a strange energy increase coming from within the enemy vessel, your Excellency." reported one of the drones as the computer fed him the data.

"What is it?" asked Membrane. "It's still unknown, sir. We cannot analyze due to our mainframe still being locked." said the drone. "However, we've nearly overcome the problem."

A few more moments of silence continued in the command center before another drone reported in to Membrane.

"Excellency. We've solved the freeze and have the mainframe back online. We've also analyzed the energy increase and have detected that it is a class 1 supernova type of energy." said the drone. "And it is about to reach critical mass and explode." added the drone.

"And you're telling me this now! YOU IDIOT!" Membrane exclaimed. "GET US OUT OF HERE NOW!" he demanded.

"Engines are still priming themselves from the freeze. We have no other methods of mobility for now." said another drone.

"We'll be caught in the blast!" said Membrane. "INSOLENT IRKENS!" he screamed.

In the blink of an eye, the Impendia was engulfed in a brilliant light that stretched out into space, and enough to engulf the enemy ship.

_ZIM'S VOOT RUNNER -_

"It looks like the beacon on the Impendia is gone." said Zim as he looked at the reports coming in on the screen.

"What now, Zim." said Dib. "We've lost this battle and lost one of our greatest weapons." he said. "How the hell do you expect us to win this!" Dib complained.

"That's why we're not with Red and Purple, Dib." said Zim, a serious expression on his face as he looked at his brother-in-law. "We're going to the far edges of the universe to seek aid in this battle." he added. "Meekrob legends tell of a strange and hidden area on the edge of the universe that holds some strange yet awesome power." Zim explained. "We're heading there now."

Dib raised a brow. "But didn't Red say to head back to Vort?" asked Dib. "That was merely a decoy message he transmitted to make sure that the enemy doesn't find US." answered Zim. "Sure, they're heading back to Vort but soon enough, they'll all abandon the planet. We're moving our base of operations." Zim added more.

"And what about this Meekrob legend?" asked Dib. "Edge of the universe? But it's an infinite mass of space that's just increasing outwards. There's no such thing as an end to the universe." explained Dib.

"That's what we're going to be finding out soon enough, Dib." looking over to Gaz as she lay in a deep sleep in her seat, Zim felt the anger he felt moments ago build up inside him again.

"They'll pay, my love. We'll make them pay and take back what is ours." he said to her, although she was unconscious. "They will not harm all that I love... never."

Tak moved over to Dib and held his hand. "They won't take what I want to protect, as well." she looked lovingly into Dib's eyes.

"Not just for love, Tak, Zim." said Dib. "We're going to protect the entire universe." declared Dib.

"Yes." Zim acknowledged their answers. "For the universe and love." he said.

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WHOOHOOO! I finally found some time and cleared my head enough to friggin' update after the longest time of absence from fan fiction!

I AM REALLY REALLY SORRY! I didn't mean to go away for so long without saying anything but I had to find myself a stable job. Well, I found one and now I think I have enough ideas and inspiration to go on writing.

However...

Sad to say, this is the last chapter in this fic.

But wait...

THERE'S A SEQUEL! You heard me right, there's another one coming up. I'll be sure to make it better than this and give you guys the writing and story you deserve to be getting from me.

To all the people who made this a fave., thank you so much. To all who gave their reviews, thank you for inspiring me to go on. And to all who just read this fic without giving a review or even adding it to your faves, then fu- Just kidding guys. I love you all and I really appreciate all the effort in reading my fic.

So, byebee for now and i'll be sure to give you something good.

Expect my sequel to be up soon.

COMING SOON: For The Universe and Love II: Dimensional Doors


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